Percentage of Americans who believe it is important to have financial conversations before saying "I do," according to a SunTrust survey: 88

Percentage who actually discussed how they would handle finances before getting married: 51

Percentage of married couples who disclosed their annual salaries before walking down the aisle: 41

Percentage who disclosed their debt: 36

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Percentage of Americans (93 million) who say they overspent this past holiday season, according to a WalletHub survey: 37

Percentage (46 million) who regret at least one of their 2018 holiday purchases: 18

Percentage of people who plan to return a present they received this past holiday season: 34

Source: WalletHub.

Age at which kids ages 4 to 14 are the most entrepreneurial, that is, the most likely to boost their income by selling old toys and clothes -- averaging $28 per sale, according to a report by Rooster Money: 11 years

Source: RoosterMoney.

Number of farms that dot America's rural landscape, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation: 2.1 million

Percentage that are operated by families -- individuals, family partnerships or family corporations: 99

Percentage of all farmers who are beginning farmers (in business less than 10 years): 20

Percentage of the total number of U.S. farm operators who are women: 30 (969,672)

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation.

Percentage of Americans who say their skin feels different in winter than it does during the rest of the year, with six in 10 going as far as calling it "unhealthy," according to a survey conducted for CeraVe: 83

Ranks of dryness (69 percent), itchiness (51 percent) and redness (24 percent) on the list of the most bothersome skin discomforts during the colder months: 1, 2, 3

Source: CeraVe.

Percentage of American adults with debt who don't know when they'll ever be debt-free, according to a study from CreditCards.com: 65

Percentage who expect to die in debt, down from 30 percent last year: 25

Percentage of Americans with debt who believe they'll conquer it at some point: 35

Average projected age to be debt-free: 53

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of Americans who say cities should provide more environmentally friendly alternatives to driving, according to a survey conducted for Bird by Global Strategy Group: 84

Percentage who said they want more options specifically for trips that are shorter than 2 miles: 76

Percentage who support increasing the number of bike and scooter lanes in their city: 80

Source: Bird.

Odds of dying accidentally from an opioid overdose, according to the National Safety Council: 1 in 96

Odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash: 1 in 103

Lifetime odds of dying from any preventable, accidental cause (a change from one in 30 in 2004): 1 in 25

Source: National Safety Council.

Percentage of parents who are likely to reward good behavior with video game playing time, according to YouGov Omnibus research: 60

Percentage who say video games can help kids build teamwork skills: 48

Percentage who say video games allow parents/kids to stay in touch with one another: 44

Percentage who believe that playing games with their kids helps strengthen their relationship: 54

Source: YouGov.

Idle Thought

"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare." -- Mark Twain

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

When it comes to indulging and straying from the usual diet, rank of pizza as the choice of dish (25 percent), beating out ice cream (18 percent) or burger with fries (18 percent), fried chicken (7 percent) and tacos (7 percent), according to a Harris Poll survey conducted for California Pizza Kitchen: 1

Percentage of the U.S. population who consume pizza on any given day, according to a study commissioned by the Department of Agriculture: 13

Source: The Harris Poll.

Rank of "lack of human interaction" on the list of the most cited reasons for discomfort with artificial intelligence, according to SAS: 1

When asked if they could explain the concept of artificial intelligence to a friend or colleague, percentage of respondents who said they could: 44

Source: SAS.

Percentage of respondents who said their organizations will not be providing additional base salary increases to employees as a result of recent legislation that cut the corporate tax rate from as high as 35 percent to a flat rate of 21 percent, according to a survey of senior executives by Korn Ferry: 86

Percentage of organizations who also indicated that it is not likely that they will be providing a one-time bonus to employees due to the tax savings: 91

Source: Korn Ferry International.

Number of times the U.S. government has been closed for business since 1976, including the partial shutdown that began on Dec. 22, 2018, according to WalletHub: 21

Ranks of the District of Columbia, New Mexico, Maryland, Hawaii and Alaska on the list of states most affected by the government shutdown: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana on the list of states least affected by the shutdown: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of U.S. broadband households who plan to buy a smart video doorbell in the next 12 months, according to Parks Associates: 25

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of American adults who enjoy adult jigsaw puzzling (those that have 500-plus pieces) at least once a year, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos, on behalf of Ravensburger: 48

Percentage who say they puzzle monthly, weekly or daily: 19

Percentage who say that they puzzle less than once a year or never: 52

Source: Ipsos Marketing, Global Consumer Goods Sector.

Value of the wellness tourism market in 2017, up from $563 billion in 2015, growing more than twice as fast as overall tourism, according to the Global Wellness Institute: $639 billion

Forecast value by 2022: $1 trillion

Ranks of China and India on the list of countries with the highest recent growth, adding 22 and 17 million wellness trips, respectively, from 2015 to 2017: 1, 2

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Percentage of adults who would be comfortable working in an open office if they had access to a private space like phone rooms or small work areas, and if noise and distraction were limited, according to research commissioned by Coldwell Banker: 66

Percentage who say they would not be comfortable working in an open office if it meant multiple workers in one office or workspace: 52

Percentage of U.S. working adults who said their office could better utilize its physical space, with the top way being a better floor plan: 63

Source: Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates.

Percentage of rewards cardholders who say they earn the most rewards on grocery purchases, according to a new CreditCards.com report: 35

Percentage who say travel is their top-earning category: 27

Ranks of gas and dining on the list: 3, 4

Source: CreditCards.com.

Idle Thought

"I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money." -- Pablo Picasso

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

Percentage of resolution-makers with financially themed resolutions who achieve their goal, according to WalletHub research: 10

Ranks of sign up for credit monitoring, pay bills right after getting a paycheck and repay 20 percent of credit card debt on the list of WalletHub's top financial New Year's resolutions for 2019: 1, 2, 3

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of Americans who said getting older gives them an opportunity to take up a new hobby, according to a survey done on behalf of TD Ameritrade: 54

Percentage who said it allows them to join new social circles: 24

Ranks of spend time with friends and family, focus on my health and wellness, seek out new experiences and increase leisure time on the list of Americans' top priorities when aging: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: TD Ameritrade.

Percentage of millennials who spend 6-plus hours on their smartphones daily, according to a study conducted by Harris Poll with OpenX: 33+

Percentage of consumers who watch no live TV: 25

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of professionals surveyed who say they have an annual performance review with their boss, according to a survey by Korn Ferry: 87

Percentage who say real-time feedback and ongoing performance discussions with their bosses are more effective than an annual review: 96

Percentage of respondents who say annual reviews have no impact or a negative impact on their performance: 30

Source: Korn Ferry International.

Percentage of Americans who said they watched videos on platforms like YouTube, Twitch or Facebook, according to a survey by YouGov Omnibus: 52

When asked about "clickbait," percentage of video watchers who say they have been duped: 69

Source: YouGov.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median age at first marriage in the United States for males (up from 27.1 years in 2003): 29.8 years

Median age at first marriage in the United States for females (up from 25.3 years in 2003): 27.8 years

In 2018, percentage of young adults ages 18 to 34 who were married, down from 59 percent in 1978: 29

Today, number of single-person households, composing 28 percent of all households in the United States: 35.7 million

In 1960, percentage of all households that were single-person households: 13

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of older adults who anticipate a time when they are not able to drive, according to a survey by the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center: 42

Percentage of older adults who say finding alternative transportation would be very difficult or somewhat difficult: 68

Percentage of caregivers who spend five to 10 hours or more on the transportation needs of friends or relatives each week: 39

Source: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center.

Percentage of U.S. adult consumers who said their concern over the privacy of personal data has increased in the past few years, according to an SAS survey: 73

Percentage who think the U.S. government should do more to protect data privacy: 67

Source: SAS.

Percentage of U.S. broadband households that are very familiar with at least one energy program -- including rebates and incentives, rate plans, usage monitoring, etc. -- according to energy research from Parks Associates: 29

Percentage that are very familiar with rebates and other incentives associated with the adoption of energy-efficient products: 21

Percentage that believe it is very important to have an energy-efficient home, though only 16 percent believe their personal habits are very energy-efficient: 56

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of CFOs who plan to bring in consultants for business systems and performance improvement initiatives over the next 12 months, according to a Robert Half Management Resources survey: 50

Percentage who say they require consultants for finance and accounting: 39

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Idle Thought

"Every man is guilty of all the things he didn't do." -- Voltaire

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