Percentage of Americans who said they overspent this past holiday season, according to WalletHub's post-holiday shopping season survey, as well as its Credit Card Return Protection Report: 29

Percentage who say they plan to spend less in 2018 than they did in 2017: 62

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage rise in consumer credit card balances in November 2016 -- to a new all-time high of $1.0227 trillion -- according to an announcement by The Federal Reserve: 13

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of HR managers who said they take thank-you notes into account when deciding whom to hire, according to an Accountemps survey: 80

Percentage of candidates who send thank-you notes: 24

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of current owners of Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers who are planning to buy another smart speaker within the next six months, according to research from Strategy Analytics: 69

Percentage of all smart speakers in use that are either Amazon or Google: 94

Source: Strategy Analytics.

Percentage of Americans who will be prioritizing healthy or socially conscious food purchases in 2018, according to a survey for Label Insight: 67

Percentage of consumers who are planning to eat less sugar or buy more "no sugar added" products this year: 47

Percentage who will emphasize natural ingredient purchases, such as those with no artificial colors or flavors: 37

Source: Wakefield Research.

Percentage of all U.S. respondents who said they would prioritize spending spare change on experiences rather than products, according to the results of a multigenerational travel study exploring consumer behavior and travel preferences of American adults from Generation Z (ages 18 to 22) to baby boomers (ages 55 to 65):74

Percentage of millennials who disclosed that they are currently saving money to spend specifically on travel: 65

Percentage of Generation Z respondents who said they have stayed at a specific hotel or destination in order to score a positive response from followers of posts on their own social media channels: 20

Source: Expedia.

Percentage of workers who said winter weather negatively impacts their mood and happiness at work, according to a survey from staffing firm Accountemps: 38

Percentage who cited January as the least-happy month at work for them: 26

Rank of "Blue Monday" (Jan. 15th) on the official list of the gloomiest days of the year: 1

Ranks of Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and Boston on the list of cities where workers give winter a thumbs-down: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Phoenix, San Diego and Miami, Austin, and Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas on the list of cities where workers give winter a thumbs-up: 1, 2 (tie) 4, 5 (3-way tie)

Source: Accountemps.

When professionals were asked what would aggravate them most during the recruiting process, percentage who cited not hearing back from the recruiter or hiring manager, according to a survey conducted by Korn Ferry: 53

Percentage who do not believe recruiters paint a clear, accurate picture of the company and of the role for which they are being considered: 47

Percentage who do not believe that the recruiters give them the tools and tips they need to land a job: 36

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Ranks of DASH Diet, Mediterranean Diet and Flexitarian Diet on the list of the best overall diets, according to research by U.S. News & World Report: 1, 2 (tie)

Ranks of Mediterranean Diet, Flexitarian Diet and Weight Watchers on the list of the easiest diets to follow: 1, 2 (tie)

Source: US News & World Report.

Percentage of U.S. broadband households who use voice controls on internet-connected devices, according to research by Parks Associates: 44

Percentage who want the ability to monitor and adjust their thermostat remotely: 49

Percentage who are very interested in having voice control in their vehicles: 40

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"When all's said and done, all roads lead to the same end. So it's not so much which road you take, as how you take it." -- Charles de Lint, writer

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

Percentage of workers who have called in sick in the last 12 months when they weren't, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 40

Percentage who have a paid time off program but still feel the need to "make up" an excuse for taking a day off, though their excuses are not always believable: 28

Percentage of employers who have checked up on a sick worker: 38

Percentage who have fired someone for using a fake excuse: 26

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of social media savvy travelers who admit they spend over four hours a day on their mobiles, often more glued to the small screen than the beach scene, according to research from Hotels.com: 30

When it comes to what they are bragging about on their trips, percentage who post food snaps: 44

Source: Hotels.com.

Percentage of American adults who have stated that they didn't make a New Year's resolution, according to a survey by Delta Dental: 23

For the rest, ranks of saving more money, losing weight and improving overall health on the list of resolutions Americans are making: 1, 2, 3

Source: Delta Dental Plans Association.

Percentage of luxury consumers in America who said home products were the most important luxury category to them, ahead of travel, automobiles and jewelry, according to findings released by LG Signature: 26

Percentage who would rather spend money upgrading their home than on fine jewelry: 78

Percentage who would rather spend money on their home than on travel: 55

Source: LG Signature.

Percentage of workers who said goal-setting is important to their work performance, according to a survey from Accountemps: 93

Percentage of professionals who discuss progress with their managers at least monthly: 51

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of callers who say that being transferred when they reach customer service leads them to think they're talking to a call center, according to a survey conducted by Clutch: 39

Percentage of callers to an automated system who said the quality they most appreciated was being offered the opportunity to talk to a real person: 25

Percentage of callers who assume they are speaking to a call center employee and also report total issue resolution: 44

Percentage of customers who believe they are speaking directly to the business they called who also report being satisfied: 76

Source: Clutch.

Ranks of Hawaii, Maryland, Texas and Oklahoma on the list of states with the highest average total debt, according to a study by GOBankingRates: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Washington, D.C., Arkansas, Louisiana and South Dakota on the list of states with the lowest average total debt: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Hawaii and Maine on the list of states with the highest percentage of credit card debt (where 75 percent of people have debt): 1 (tie)

Source: GoBankingRates.com.

Percentage of those still working who are not actively paying off any debts before retirement, according a PNC survey: 38

Percentage who are attempting to pay off their mortgage: 31

Percentage who are paying down credit card debt: 10

Source: PNC Financial Services Group.

Percentage of Americans who have been bullied as an adult (subjected to repeated negative behavior intended to harm or intimidate), according to a survey conducted on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association: 31

Percentage of the victims of bullying who suffer from stress: 71

Percentage who experience anxiety/depression: 70

Percentage who report a loss of confidence: 55

Source: American Osteopathic Association.

Percentage of attorneys who said decreased job stress is the one aspect of their job they would change, according to a survey by Robert Half Legal: 42

Percentage who said they would opt for fewer hours at work or more personal time: 22

Source: Robert Half Legal.

Idle Thought

"We also deem those happy who from the experience of life, have learned to bear its ills and without descanting on their weight." -- Juvenal, Roman poet

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

Americans' average debt amount in 2017, according to a study by GOBankingRates: $140,113

Percentage of respondents who had mortgage debt, the most common form of household debt: 65

Percentage who had medical debt, the least common: 21

Source: GoBankingRates.com.

Percentage of teen drivers who say they are just as good at driving as their parent or guardian, according to a Hum by Verizon survey: 57

Percentage who admitted to having felt unsafe on the road: 72

Percentage who cited getting into an accident as their No. 1 concern on the road: 77

Percentage of teen drivers who wish they had learned more about how to drive safely in ice, snow and wet weather: 51

Percentage who wish they had learned more about how to change a tire: 47

Percentage who wish they knew how to jump-start a battery: 44

Source: Hum by Verizon.

Percentage of brand share among existing smartphone units that is owned by Apple, according to Parks Associates research: 47

Percentage owned by Samsung: 29

Source: Parks Associates.

By 2020, projected percentage of American workers who will be independent contractors, according to a study by Intuit: 40

Percentage hiring increase in gig workers (a contractor/temporary worker) over the past six months, according to a survey by the nonprofit small business association SCORE: 37

Percentage increase in the hiring of part-time employees in the past six months: 22

Sources: Intuit and SCORE.

Percentage of parents who save money for the holidays, according to the ninth annual T. Rowe Price Parents, Kids & Money Survey: 73

Percentage of holiday-savers who start to put money away right after the previous year's holiday season: 48

Percentage of parents using credit cards to pay for holiday purchases who pay them off within six months: 90

Source: T. Rowe Price.

During the year, percentage of Americans who donated time to a charitable cause, according to a survey by Toluna: 28

Percentage who donated money: 31

Percentage who have donated clothing: 48

Percentage of respondents who have committed a random act of kindness for someone else (aka "paying it forward"): 60

Percentage who have paid for someone else's groceries when they didn't have enough money: 34

Source: Toluna QuickSurveys.

Average cost to a company for every bad hire last year, according to a CareerBuilder survey: $14,900

Average cost of losing a good hire: $29,600

Percentage of employers who say they've hired the wrong person for a position: 74

Ranks of "less productivity" (37 percent), "lost time to recruit and train another worker" (32 percent) and "compromised quality of work" (31 percent) on the list of ways bad hires affected business, as cited by employers: 1, 2, 3

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of employees who report being in the high-stress category, according to the 2017 StressPulseSM survey, released by ComPsych: 59

Percentage of employees who see accomplishing basic tasks as the top work priority: 56

Percentage who say workload is their primary cause of stress: 39

Percentage who say people issues are the top work stressors: 31

Percentage who cite juggling work and personal life: 19

Source: ComPsych Corp.

Estimated percentage of their week that American children are spending online, according to a survey commissioned by Sugru: 30

Number of hours in a week that children spend on creative offline hobbies, such as drawing, painting, crafting and DIY projects: 10

Percentage of parents who feel it's still important for kids to learn creative hands-on skills: 79

Percentage who wish their kids were more creative: 40

Percentage of parents who believe creative kids grow to become more successful, well-balanced adults: 70

Source: Sugru.

Idle Thought

"All human beings should try to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why." -- James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)

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