Including mortgages, credit cards and student loans, amount of debt owed by Americans, according to the New York Federal Reserve: $14 trillion

According to a recent survey conducted by Nationwide, percentage of Americans who are stressed thinking about their debt: 44

Percentage of respondents who said they feel a sense of relief and accomplishment when they pay off their debt: 54

Source: Nationwide.

Percentage of consumers who eat at fast-food restaurants once per month, according to RetailMeNot data: 86

Percentage who visit "fast casual" establishments: 67

Average cost per month of eating outside the home: $281

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

According to an ongoing Gallup Poll, percentage of Americans (totalling 45 million people) who stated they were utilizing CBD products and fewer opiates to aid with discomfort: 14

Source: Gallup Organization.

Ranks of Iceland, Norway and Finland on the list of countries where gender inequality -- the gap between men and women in terms of health, education, work and politics -- is the narrowest, according to the World Economic Forum: 1, 2, 3

Rank of the U.K.: 21

Rank of the U.S.: 53

Ranks of Pakistan, Iraq and Yemen (the bottom three): 151, 152, 153

Projected number of years it will take gender inequality to disappear altogether, according to the Forum: 99

Source: World Economic Forum.

Ranks of "lack of progression" and "low pay" on the list of reasons people quit their jobs, according to research by CareerAddict: 1, 2

Percentage who said they didn't regret leaving their jobs: 87

Percentage who also revealed they would consider returning if they were offered a better salary or a higher position: 35

Percentage of respondents who said their boss takes credit for their work: 50

Source: CareerAddict.

Percentage of Americans who say the media are important to American democracy, with over half saying they are very important, according to a survey conducted by Regina Corso Consulting: 85

Source: Regina Corso Consulting.

Percentage of professionals who said their company provides the option to work off-site, according to Robert Half: 47

Of those, percentage who take advantage of the perk and work from home: 70

Percentage who do their job from another location, such as a cafe or shared office space: 6

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of workers who find digital administration boring and a poor use of their skills, according to research conducted by OnePoll: 48

Percentage who say it gets in the way of doing their main job: 51

Percentage who report that it reduces their overall productivity: 64

Ranks of general data entry, managing email traffic and filing digital documents -- such as documents, spreadsheets, images or PDFs -- into the correct digital folder on the list of the most-hated office tasks: 1, 2, 3

Source: OnePoll.

Ranks of dining out and travel/experiences on the list of categories that consumers are most likely to splurge on, as determined by 5W Public Relations in its 2020 consumer culture report: 1, 2

Source: 5W Public Relations.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency room visit or car repair, according to a report by Bankrate.com: 41

Percentage of adults (or their close family) who have experienced an unexpected expense in the past year: 28

Average cost of one: $3,518

Source: Bankrate.com.

Idle Thought

"Even the most beautiful scenery is no longer assured of our love after we have lived in it for three months, and some distant coast attracts our avarice: Possessions are generally diminished by possession." -- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

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

Average amount that Americans in the country's 22 largest metropolitan areas spend annually on food at home, according to a CreditCards.com analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data: $4,464

Amount spent by Seattle residents to top the list: $6,195

Average amount spent on food away from home: $3,459

Amount spent in Washington, D.C.: $5,629

Average amount spent on gas: $2,109

Amount spent in Los Angeles at No. 1: $2,706

Average amount spent on public/other transportation: $818

Amount spent in Washington, D.C.: $2,099

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of Super Bowl tickets that go to the AFC champion, according to Tickpick: 17.5

Percentage that go to the NFC champion: 17.5

Percentage that go to the host team: 5

Percentage that is distributed among the remaining 29 teams (1.2% per team): 34.8

Percentage of remaining Super Bowl tickets controlled by the NFL and sold to various partners, sponsors, media and networks: 25.2

Source: Tickpick.

Percentage of companies in the U.S. that offer any child-care benefits, according to a survey by Clutch: 6

Average annual cost of daycare for one infant or toddler (a cost that varies widely based on a family's location): $11,666

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of technology leaders who said their company offers IT staff more than the norm when it comes to things like remote work opportunities and sign-on bonuses, according to research from Robert Half Technology: 75

Ranks of Miami, Seattle and Raleigh, North Carolina, on the list of the 28 U.S. cities in the survey that have the most organizations that are sweetening the pot for hard-to-find IT talent: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of IT managers who said the main reason for the extras is to gain a recruiting edge over competitors: 60

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Percentage of parents in the U.S. who gave their children a regular allowance last year, according to a study by RoosterMoney: 69

Average weekly allowance (nearly $499 a year, up 6% from 2018): $9.59

Average percentage of their money that kids saved: 42

Average amount of their income that adults saved, according to the latest statistics: 7.8

Ranks of Legos, cellphones and Nintendo Switch on the list of the top items kids save for: 1, 2, 3

Source: RoosterMoney.

Percentage of Americans who say they feel in control over their current financial situation, according to a financial services firm Edward Jones survey: 81

Percentage of respondents who reported that they feel happy when thinking about saving money: 21

If given $1,000, percentage of respondents who said they would allocate it to short-term goals (those that can be accomplished in less than five years): 72

Percentage who also reported that retirement was a top savings priority: 26

Source: Edward Jones.

Percentage of all nonretired adults who have no retirement savings or pension, according to a report from WalletHub: 26

Ranks of Florida, Colorado, New Hampshire, Utah and Wyoming on the list of the best states in which to retire -- established by data ranging from adjusted cost of living to weather to quality of public hospitals: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Kentucky, New Mexico, Rhode Island, New Jersey and West Virginia on the list of the worst states in which to retire: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: WalletHub.

Across a range of categories -- from economic influence and military might to education and quality of life -- ranks of Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. on the list of the best countries, according to an analysis project by U.S. News and World Report, BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Ranks of United States, Russia and China on the list of the most powerful countries: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of Canada, Denmark and Sweden on the list of the best countries for quality of life: 1, 2, 3

Source: U.S. News and World Report.

Projected worldwide value of pirate video services accessed by pay-TV and nonpay-TV consumers by 2023, according to a Parks Associates report: $67 billion plus

If just 10% of pay-TV subscribers discontinued pay-TV services in favor of video delivered by pirates, probable loss to those operators by 2023: $6 billion

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of Americans who reported feeling guilty about wasting energy in their homes, according to a Vivint Solar Report: 70

Percentage in the oldest group of people (55 and older) who felt guilty about wasting energy, compared to 77% of respondents in the youngest group (ages 18 to 24): 55

Percentage who said that they changed their habits to be more "green" when others were around: 49

Source: Vivint Solar.

Idle Thought

"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have." -- Socrates

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

Estimated number of people who were planning to make a financial resolution for 2020, according to a WalletHub survey: 99 million

Ranks of "repay 20% of your credit card debt" and "add one month's pay to your emergency fund" on the list of WalletHub's Top 10 New Year's financial resolutions for 2020: 1, 2

Source: WalletHub.

Average cost of tickets to the very first Super Bowl in 1967, according to research by Andrew D. Even (about $75 in 2018 money): $10

By the year 2000, average cost of Super Bowl tickets, when adjusted for inflation: $500

Average price in 2019: $6,122

Source: Tickpick.

Percentage of parents who said mom-shaming and overscheduling kids were the parenting trends they'd most like to see go away in 2020, according to a survey by Boudreaux's Butt Paste: 64

Percentage of parents who agree that the "authoritative" parenting style -- i.e., being sensitive and responsive to children's needs, while maintaining sternness -- is most effective: 54

Rank of "authoritarian" parenting -- being stern, demanding and aloof -- on the list of effective parenting styles, with 12% of the vote: 2

Source: Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

Percentage of U.S. adults who said that marriage is very important to them, according to a survey by Adam and Eve: 57

Percentage who said it is somewhat important: 27

Percentage who said it is not at all important to them: 15

Source: Adam and Eve.

Percentage of all shoppers who made holiday purchases while drunk, including 31% of men and the same number of millennials, according to a survey by CompareCards: 23

Source: CompareCards.

Percentage of grocery dollars that come from online shopping (sales are expected to triple and reach $74 billion by 2023), according to research by Acosta: 3

Percentage of their grocery budget the average online grocery shopper spends online: 33

Percentage of millennials who utilize online grocery pickup once a week or multiple times a week: 50

Source: Acosta.

Percentage of U.S. adults with debt who expect to die in debt, according to CreditCards.com: 7

Percentage of debtors who expect a debt-free future within five years: 45

Average payoff time among those who are bogged down by debt but expect to be debt-free at some point: 9 years

Percentage of U.S. adults who anticipate adding to their debts in 2020: 27

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of senior managers who noted the top job-search tactic that helps job seekers' chances is networking or connecting with current employees at the company of interest via social media, according to research from global staffing firm Accountemps: 49

Percentage who said providing access to an online portfolio or personal website: 47

Ranks of "the use of cartoons or caricatures" (35%) and "colorful fonts or backgrounds" (25%) on application materials on the list of actions that can negatively impact candidates: 1, 2

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of parents and students who reported that their high schools promote four-year university programs as a post-secondary education option, according to a survey commissioned by StrataTech Education Group: 73

Percentage that promote two-year college programs: 45

Source: StrataTech Education Group.

Percentage of co-working employees who are satisfied with their co-working space, according to a survey from Clutch: 77

Ranks of in-office perks, such as coffee, snacks, social events and games, convenient location and opportunity to interact with other businesses on the list of the top three benefits of co-working spaces: 1, 2, 3

Source: Clutch.

Idle Thought

"You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know." -- William Wilberforce

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