Percentage of students who said they didn't feel fully prepared to manage their own money when they went to college, according to a BookRenter College Experience survey: 77

Percentage of respondents who believed that it was a parent's responsibility to actively teach them about money: 85

Percentage of students who felt that the onus of learning about money is on them: 5

Source: BookRenter.

Percentage of Americans who said that if they should suddenly inherit a large sum of money, they would start a business, according to findings from a Flash Eurobarometer study investigating attitudes toward entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in the 27 European Union member states, the U.S. and 50 Chinese cities: 14

Percentage of Chinese who would use an inheritance to start a business: 41

Percentage of Americans who would save the money: 48

Percentage of Chinese who would save the money: 23

Source: Gallup.

Percentage forecast rise in Christmas sales this year over last, totaling nearly $59 billion, according to IBISWorld: 3.6

Percentage rise in electronics, such as remoteless video-game consoles and tablet computers, expected to be the strongest-growing gift category: 7

Projected percentage rise in jewelry sales, in an expected return to luxury shopping: 6.1

Source: IBISWorld.

Percentage of advertising and marketing executives who believe that the annual holiday corporate shindig is a good investment, according to a survey by The Creative Group: 52

Percentage who said their firms don't have holiday celebrations: 24

Source: The Creative Group.

Percentage of Americans who plan to spend more on leisure travel in 2011 than they did this year, according to TripAdvisor's annual Travel Trends survey: 36

Percentage who expect to spend the same amount: 42

Percentage who plan to take two or more leisure trips next year -- a slight increase on the 89 percent who said they have done so in 2010: 90

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of employers who report concern that their top talent may leave their organizations when the economy improves, thus giving workers more leverage in compensation reviews, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 43

Percentage of employers who said they are willing to negotiate 2011 salary increases with current employees: 31

Percentage who plan to leave some negotiating room when extending initial offers to new employees: 51

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Americans who have purchased a vehicle who say quality has the greatest influence on their car-buying decision, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of CarMax: 37

Percentage who said price has the greatest influence: 28

Percentage who cited safety: 22

Source: CarMax.

Percentage of active gamers in the U.S. who spend money on in-game virtual items and micro-transactions to the point they are filing lawsuits to establish "ownership" of these virtual goods, according to a Parks Associates report: 19

As virtual items become a larger part of the gaming business economy, projected worldwide revenue in microtransaction revenues by 2015: $6 billion

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of adults who said Johnny Depp's performance in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy is today's best example of the swashbuckling tradition that was the trademark of stars like Errol Flynn, according to the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) poll which gauges how modern movies, stars and filmmakers stack up against Hollywood icons: 41

Ranks of Antonio Banderas in "The Mask of Zorro" and Russell Crowe in "Robin Hood": 2, 3

Source: Turner Classic Movies.

Percentage of participants with an employer-sponsored defined benefit plan who are very confident that they will receive income from their pension plan in retirement, down from 24 percent in 2008, according to a Mercer Workplace Survey: 19

Percentage who are "somewhat confident": 35

Percentage who are "not at all confident" that they will receive some pension income: 11

Source: Mercer.

Idle Thought

"You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips." -- Oliver Goldsmith, writer and physician

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Percentage of workers who have played hooky from the office at least once this year, according to CareerBuilder's annual survey on absenteeism: 29

Percentage of employers who think they are seeing an increase in bogus sick excuses from employees due to continued stress and burnout caused by the weak economy: 27

Percentage of employers who reported that they have checked up on an employee who called in sick: 29

Percentage who said they have fired a worker for missing work without a proven excuse: 16

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Estimated number of pounds of turkey that Americans consume each year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 13.4

Number of U.S. cities named after turkey: Turkey, Texas, Turkey Creek, La., and Turkey, N.C.: 3

Number of cities in the U.S. named after the cranberry: 8

Number of locations in the U.S. named Plymouth: 28

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of chief financial officers who said that if they could eliminate one responsibility, it would be basic clerical and administrative work, according to a survey developed by Robert Half Management Resources: 38

Percentage who said they would hand off accounting-related tasks: 19

Percentage who said human resource-related work: 14

Percentage who said managing: 7

Source: Robert Half Finance and Accounting.

Percentage of those saving for a college education who do not believe the stock market will provide the returns needed over the next 10 years to enable them to achieve their college savings goals, according to a survey by the Tuition Plan Consortium: 50

Despite the fact that the S&P 500 Index has produced an annualized return of nearly 9.5 percent over the past 50 years, percent of college savers who would rather receive a guaranteed return that offsets increases in tuition than rely on the stock market to produce higher returns: 73

Source: Tuition Plan Consortium.

Estimated number of Americans who will travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a decrease of 600,000 travelers (1.4 percent) from last year's total of 41.6 million, according to a forecast by AAA: 41 million

Estimated number of Americans (81 percent of all holiday travelers) who expect to travel by automobile, a 1.2 percent decrease from the 33.6 million people who drove a year ago: 33.2 million

Source: AAA.

Expected percentage year-over-year increase in the number of passengers traveling on U.S. airlines during the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday season, according to the Air Transport Association of America: 3.5

Number of air travelers who are projected to travel over the period: 24 million

Source: Air Transport Association.

Aside from excellent medical care, percentage of Americans who say that keeping a positive mental attitude is most beneficial when facing a serious health challenge, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of CaringBridge: 35

Percentage who feel that having emotional support and encouragement from loved ones would be most beneficial: 27

Percentage who believe that personal prayer and their faith would be their strength: 23

Percentage who believe in staying physically active: 13

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of online shoppers who are planning to shop on Black Friday, according to an Offers.com survey: 37

Among them, percentage (18 percent of all online shoppers) who plan to do at least part of that shopping online: 50

Among all online shoppers, percentage who are planning to shop on Cyber Monday: 18

Source: Offers.com.

Percentage of Americans who say that having a decent, affordable place to live is either No. 1 or high up on their list of individual and family priorities, according to a Zogby International poll commissioned by the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials: 86

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of women presidents and CEOs of multimillion-dollar companies who have maintained or grown their employee base, according to the annual economic survey by the Women Presidents' Organization: 74

Percentage of these CEOs and presidents who provide health insurance to their employees: 85

Percentage who cover 81 percent to 100 percent of health insurance for employees: 32

Source: Women Presidents' Organization.

Idle Thought

"When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece." -- John Ruskin, author

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Percentage of employers hiring seasonal workers in the fourth quarter this year who said they plan to pay more than $10 an hour, according to a survey from CareerBuilder: 54

Percentage of hiring managers who said their No. 1 pet peeve when hiring seasonal workers is a lack of enthusiasm: 59

Percentage of hiring managers who said they are turned off by workers who appear to want employee discounts more than the opportunity: 31

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Americans who would rather get up early than sleep in while on vacation, according to the relaxation survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Princess Cruises: 55

While on vacation, percentage of respondents who said that they would rather be spontaneous than schedule their day: 60

Ranks of reading (25 percent), having a drink (20 percent) and listening to music (19 percent) on the list of activities that most aid their relaxation while on vacation: 1, 2, 3

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of men who believe it's becoming more socially acceptable to date an older woman, according to a survey by AreYouInterested.com: 85

Percentage of women who would not be offended if they were called a cougar: 73

Percentage of men who would date an older woman because she may expect less than a younger woman who may be looking for marriage: 51

Source: Linden Alschuler and Kaplan Public Relations.

Percentage of U.S. online consumers who say having their questions answered by a live person while they are in the process of shopping online is one of the most important features of a website, according to Forrester Research: 45

Source: Forrester.

Percentage of Americans who are in favor of legalizing the use of marijuana, according to Gallup's annual crime survey: 46

Source: Gallup.

Estimated percentage of the 139 million U.S. workers who do their jobs from home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 4

Rank of Montana on the list of states with the greatest proportion of people working from home -- just over 7 percent: 1

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Estimated percentage of the nation's estimated 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants who are of Hispanic origin, according to a survey of Latinos by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center: 80

Percentage of Latino adults who say the unauthorized immigrants should pay a fine but not be deported: 53

Percentage of Latinos who support providing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants if they pass background checks, pay a fine and have jobs: 86

Percentage of the general public who feel the same: 68

Source: Pew Hispanic Center.

Percentage of Americans who took a last-minute trip last year and had planned those trips an average of just six days prior to their departure, according to a Ypartnership/Harrison Group 2010 Portrait of American Travelers survey: 27

Percentage of recipients of "flash sale" e-mails (by travel service suppliers trying to liquidate what would otherwise be unsold inventory) who report purchasing a travel service as a result: 14

Percentage of airfare services booked as a result of a flash sale: 47

Source: Ypartnership Public Relations.

Percentage of adult children with retired parents who said they had detailed discussions with their parents about their parents' income and expenses, according to research from EBRI, the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute: 47

Percentage of adult children with retired parents who said they knew the approximate amount of their parents' income: 42

Source: EBRI.

Despite screaming headlines proclaiming the death of the printed book due to burgeoning digital content and electronic reading devices, the percentage of college students who purchased an electronic book of any kind during July, August and September, according to findings of a study by OnCampus Research: 13

Of that 13 percent, percentage who stated that the primary purpose of their e-book purchase was required course materials for class: 56

Percentage of students who said they preferred print over digital: 74

Source: National Association of College Stores.

Idle Thought

"Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half of the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it." -- Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)