Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of millennials and Gen Zers who plan to use money saved during the pandemic toward a down payment on a house, according to a survey by Zillow: 59

Percentage of young adults who say they somewhat or completely preferred a home in a remote area: 44

Number of young adults who moved back home since the spring of 2020: 3 million

Source: Zillow.

Number of cigarette-equivalents of tobacco (combining smoked tobacco products include manufactured cigarettes, hand-rolled cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, pipes, shisha, and regional products such as bidis and kreteks) that were consumed in 2019, amounting to 20.3 billion each day worldwide, according to research by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation: 7.4 trillion� Globally, percentage of male and female smokers who consume 20 or more cigarette-equivalents per day: 33 for men, 20 for women� Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Percentage of professionals who plan to take more than three weeks of vacation time this year, according to research from global staffing firm Robert Half: 33� Percentage who are ready for an "awaycation" to travel and completely disconnect from work: 57� Percentage who prefer a staycation: 32� Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of 13- to 17-year-olds who say they have had some sort of financial literacy class in school, according to a survey conducted for Junior Achievement: 38� Percentage of teens who agree with the statement, "Every student should have at least one financial literacy class before graduating high school": 87

Source: Junior Achievement.

Percentage of Americans who say they are confident they will take a vacation this year (up from 42% in 2019 and 26% in 2020), which is defined as a leisure trip of at least a week to a place that is 100 miles or more from home, according to Allianz Partners: 60� Source: Allianz Global Assistance USA.

Percentage of Americans who said global warming is a serious and pressing problem, according to the results of a Long Island University Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis national poll: 73� Percentage of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 who said it was: 80� Percentage aged 45 years and older who agreed: 68� Source: Long Island University Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis.

Percentage of U.S. workers (and 54% of European workers) who believe vaccines will not completely stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus: 47� Percentage of U.S. workers (and 34% of European workers) who feel that their employers have a plan in place to provide vaccination: 39� Percentage of workers in both regions who are not comfortable with employers collecting their personal data specific to the pandemic: 66� Source: Forrester.

Among vaccinated travelers surveyed globally, rank of dining indoors, visiting a museum and visiting a theme park on the list of activities they feel more confident attending, according to a survey conducted by TripAdvisor: 1, 2, 3� Percentage of U.S. respondents who plan on taking a summer vacation somewhere in the U.S., while 22% plan on taking a summer vacation abroad: 51� Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of homeowners who expect to spend more than $10,000 on upcoming interior projects, while 71% of respondents plan to spend $5,000 or less on interior work: 17� This year, percentage of homeowners who plan to finance about half of their project, up from 20% of respondents in 2020: 31� Source: Modernize.com.

Percentage of students who believe their post-graduate plans may have been different if not for the economic recession, according to a report from BestColleges.com: 45� Percentage who feel apprehensive about entering the current job market: 52� Percentage of graduates who feel the pandemic impacted their immediate employment goals: 56� Percentage who reported feeling prepared to work remotely as 2021 college graduates: 59� Source: BestColleges.com.

Idle Thought

"A brother is a friend given by nature." -- Gabriel Legouve, French poet (1764-1812)

Percentage of Americans who say women face a lot of pressure to be an involved parent, according to a Pew Research survey: 77

Percentage who say the same of men: 49

Percentage of women who feel pressured to be physically attractive: 71

Percentage who say the same of men: 27

Source: Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends.

Percentage of newlyweds who went into wedding debt, according to a study by LendingTree: 45

Among those who went into debt, percentage who said money caused them to contemplate divorce, compared to just 9% of those couples who did not go into debt for their wedding: 47

Percentage of newlyweds who wish they spent less on their wedding: 25

Rank of spending too much on food and drink or the venue on the list of regrets: 1

Source: LendingTree.

Percentage of Americans who said they were planning to celebrate Independence Day with a cookout, barbecue or a picnic, according to research by Statista: 56

Percentage who planned to attend fireworks/community celebrations: 24

Percentage who were going to a parade: 6

Source: Statista.

Percentage of employees who want to be fully remote post-pandemic and will not tolerate being compensated less for remote work, according to survey data from salary.com: 48

Percentage who want a hybrid work model: 44

Percentage of employers who support the hybrid work model: 51

Source: salary.com.

On average, percentage of people in 28 countries across the world who think that their country is divided by "culture wars," according to an Ipsos Global Advisor poll, carried out in partnership with the Policy Institute at King's College London: 35

Ranks of South Africa, India, the United States and Brazil on the list of countries where people are most likely to feel that their country is divided that way: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of the United States and South Africa where people perceive that their country is divided by tension between different ethnicities: 1, 2

Source: Ipsos.

Percentage of people who want rewards on gas more than any other type of travel purchase, according to a survey by WalletHub: 63

Percentage who consider the price of gas when making summer travel plans: 54

Source: WalletHub.

Ranks of real estate and cash investments, such as savings accounts or CDs, on the list of Americans' preferred ways to invest over a period of 10 years or more, according to a Bankrate.com report: 1, 2

While the stock market topped the list in 2020 with 28% of Americans pointing to it as their preferred way to invest money not needed for a decade or longer, percentage who chose it this year: 16

Percentage of Americans who indicate some level of comfort with investing in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin: 35

Source: Bankrate.com.

Entering the summer months of 2021, percentage of Americans who say they have grown more comfortable with the plane as a mode of transportation, compared to 2020, according to an Out of Home Advertising Association survey: 59

Percentage of Americans who say they have grown more comfortable with trains: 56

Percentage who had grown more comfortable with the subway: 38

Source: Out of Home Advertising Association.

Percentage of U.S. adults who identify as politically independent, though most "lean" toward one of the two major parties, according to a Pew Research Center report: 38

Percentage of Americans overall who don't express a partisan leaning: 7

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Percentage of American voters who support the U.S. helping global COVID-19 vaccination efforts, according to research by Data For Progress: 79

Estimated percentage of likely voters who agree that pharmaceutical companies, governments and countries around the world should work collaboratively to help us recover from the pandemic as quickly as we can: 90

Percentage who want to share excess vaccine doses from the U.S. stockpile that would otherwise expire unused: 83

Source: Data For Progress.

Idle Thought

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony." -- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Percentage of social media users who said they wouldn't give up their accounts for less than $10,000, despite acknowledging that the platforms contribute to their symptoms of poor mental health, according to a survey of social media users by the ReBoot Foundation: 70

Percentage who said it would take a million dollars or more: 20

Source: The Reboot Foundation.

Percentage of U.S. employees who plan to leave their employer as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, according to a survey from Eagle Hill Consulting: 27

Percentage who expect to leave their job in the next year: 29

Percentage of millennial workers who plan to leave within the next year: 33

Source: Eagle Hill Consulting.

Ranks of quiet location, updated kitchen and a garage and large backyard on the list of features most post-COVID home shoppers look for, according to a study by Realtor.com: 1, 2, 3

Percentage who say that they consider extended family when they shop for a home, with nearly a quarter stating that they are planning to buy near family members: 65

Source: Realtor.com.

Percentage of HR professionals who are confident that they know where the majority of their employees are working, according to a survey by Topia: 93

Percentage who are confident their employees self-report when working in another state or country: 78

Source: Topia.

Percentage of diners who value lower prices the most when eating in restaurants, according to research by Acosta: 51

Percentage who value promotions and limited offers the most: 43

Percentage who value healthier options, including high-protein, lower sugar or sugar-free, low-calorie and locally grown meal choices: 37

Source: Acosta.

Percentage of parents with children under age 18 who will pay for some form of summer child care this year, with the average cost per child at $834 for the summer, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 46

Percentage who plan to pay for summer childcare who will incur credit card debt from the expenses: 45

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of high schoolers who are most worried about people they know and love getting sick and dying (a number that rises to 52% of Black and Hispanic teens), according to a GENYOUth survey: 45

Percentage who are most concerned about losing the happiest and most exciting years of their lives to the pandemic: 53

Source: GENYOUth.

Estimated 2021 forecast for summer vacation spending, according to Allianz Partners: $153.7 billion

Percentage increase this represents over the summer vacation spend in locked-down 2020 (and an impressive 50% increase over a robust 2019): 160

Anticipated average spend per vacationing household, the second time the figure has topped $2,000 since the company began tracking vacation habits in 2010: $2,122

Source: Allianz Global Assistance USA.

Among the 38% of Americans who worked from home at some point since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, percentage who said working from home had a positive effect on their personal finances, according to a study from Bankrate.com: 57

Ranks of having more freedom, more family time and more sleep on the list of the most common positives of working from home: 1, 2, 3

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of U.S. companies who say that employees' well-being is extremely important, compared to 39% globally, according to a new Aon/Ipsos poll: 36

Percentage who say that well-being is integrated in their company's overall business and talent strategy: 38

Source: Ipsos.

Idle Thought

"Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use." -- Emily Post