Figuratively Speaking

Among U.S. adults who say they will take a vacation this summer, the percentage who anticipate making changes to their plans due to the high level of inflation, according to a study from Bankrate.com: 69

Percentage who will take fewer trips and travel shorter distances: 25

Percentage who will engage in cheaper activities: 23

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of Americans who say their credit card spending habits returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, according to a survey by WalletHub: 47

Projected number of Americans who will have more credit card debt by the end of 2022: 33 million

Percentage of people with credit card debt who say they would do anything to be debt-free: 37

Source: WalletHub.

Amount that will be spent this summer on vacations, according to Allianz Partners USA: $194 billion

Percentage increase over last year, when many Americans slowly began making their return to travel: 26

Americans' average anticipated spend on vacations this summer: $2,644

Source: Allianz.

Number of Americans who have fallen victim to a phone scam in the past 12 months -- up from 59.4 million in 2021 and 56 million in 2020 -- according to research by Truecaller: 68.4 million

Amount of money that was lost to phone scams this past year: $39.5 billion

In the last 12 months, percentage of those who fell victim to a phone scam who were men, compared to only 42.2% who were women: 55.6

Percentage of Americans who report having fallen victim to phone scams, and 20% on more than one occasion: 33

Of those who lost money to phone scams in the last year, the average reported loss: $577

Source: Truecaller.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have experienced buyer's remorse after buying items online, according to a survey commissioned by Slickdeals: 74

Percentage who had the feeling that the purchased item was less valuable than expected: 39

Percentage who found they were not using it as frequently as expected: 34

Percentage who thought they spent too much money in the first place: 32

Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of people who say traveling to their destination is often as much fun as the actual vacation destination, according to a survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores: 69

Ranks of by car, by air and by train on the list of the ways vacationers most frequently travel: 1, 2, 3

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of parents who believe the more curious children are, the more likely they are to be successful as adults, according to a research survey by Wakefield Research commissioned by Baby Einstein: 94

Ranks of being creative, learning new things faster and more easily, and thinking critically on the list of the top areas that curious kids excel over their less-curious peers: 1, 2, 3

Source: Wakefield Research.

Percentage of American adults who weigh more than their ideal weight -- mirroring a 30-year trend toward obesity -- according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics: 82

When it comes to shedding the pounds, percentage of Americans who say that hearing from a doctor that they need to lose weight would motivate them: 83

Percentage who say they'd be influenced if their doctor told them they had a serious health risk: 90

Percentage of Americans who say they've actually asked their primary-care doctor for weight-loss help or advice: 20

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among Americans who have ever hosted guests, percentage who enjoy doing so at their home, according to survey commissioned by Boursin and conducted by The Harris Poll: 92

Percentage who feel hesitant about assuming the role of host, including 21% who feel uncertain about "new rules" for hosting since the coronavirus pandemic began: 60

Percentage of hosts who are gravitating toward simple versus complex recipes for their gatherings: 79

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of parents or guardians who report that issues with child care access have prevented or postponed career activities, such as earning a living wage or acceptable salary, getting a job, increasing their lifetime earnings potential and pursuing education or training for career advancement, according to survey by BestColleges.com: 18

Source: BestColleges.com.

Idle Thought

"Every age is fed on illusions, lest men should renounce life early and the human race come to an end." -- Joseph Conrad, novelist (1857-1924)

Percentage of nonhomeowners who don't think their credit is good enough to buy a home, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 22

Percentage who simply never want to be homeowners: 14

Percentage of all U.S. adults who would be willing to take action to find more affordable housing, including 27% who would move out of state, 21% who would buy a fixer-upper, 20% who would move farther from family and friends, 13% who would move farther from work and 11% who would move to a less desirable area: 58

Source: Bankrate.com.

Projected consumer spending this Father's Day, nearly on par with last year's record-setting figure of $20.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics: $20 billion

Approximate percentage of U.S. adults who are expected to celebrate Father's Day: 76

Projected average amount that consumers will spend to honor their fathers and other important men in their lives: $171.79

Source: NRF.

Percentage of working adults who report that monetary hurdles prevented them from getting a better job in the last five years, according to a survey from BestColleges.com: 23

Ranks of gap/change in health coverage, taking unpaid time off to job search/interview and expenses related to upskilling/reskilling on the list of the main financial barriers to changing jobs perceived by Americans: 1, 2, 3

Source: BestColleges.com.

Approximate number of Americans -- nearly one every five minutes -- who died of a drug overdose in 2021, according to newly released provisional data from the CDC: 107,600

Percentage of people struggling with a substance use disorder who are employed: 70

Source: National Safety Council.

Percentage of consumers who are dining out less as menu prices rise -- though one-third are continuing to eat out, opting for less expensive restaurants and meal options to reduce overall costs, according to research from Acosta: 54

Percentage of diners who say not having time to cook is a top reason for eating out, a figure that jumped 13 percentage points since last year: 33

Source: Acosta.

Percentage of Americans who report that inflation is affecting their travel plans, according to research by WalletHub: 58

Percentage more people who would skip a credit card payment instead of a vacation this year, compared to last year: 41

Percentage of people who say travel usually gets them into debt: 32

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of U.S. adults who report an increase in their impulse spending in 2022, according to a survey commissioned by Slickdeals: 64

Percentage who said most of their purchases tend to be spontaneous -- a large jump from 59% who said the same last year: 73

Amount of money the average person spends per month on impulse purchases: $314

Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of Americans who say that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, according to an Ipsos poll: 31

Percentage of those who are unvaccinated who say the pandemic is over vs. 22% of those who are vaccinated that say the same: 55

Percentage of all Americans who describe the pandemic as a problem, but manageable: 71

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of respondents who say they are likely to purchase travel insurance for their next trip, according to a survey of customers by Allianz Partners USA: 90

Percentage of summer travelers who are electing for domestic destinations, traveling within the continental U.S.: 46

Percentage who will travel across "The Pond" to Europe: 27

Percentage who plan to go to Mexico, the Caribbean or Hawaii: 16

Percentage who plan a summer trip to Canada: 5

Percentage of travelers who plan to fly to their destinations: 61

Source: Allianz Life Insurance.

Percentage of U.S. internet households that have livestreamed online content in the past three months, with sporting events by far the most popular type of content, according to Parks Associates: 43

Percentage of livestreaming users who have recently watched a live sporting event online: 61

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." -- Peter Drucker, management consultant and writer (1909-2005)

Percentage of office workers who say they regularly work from a flexible/shared workspace, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Fusion Connect: 20

Percentage who regularly work from a coffee shop: 16

Source: Fusion Connect.

Percentage of homeowners who can't park in their garage because of how cluttered and disorganized it is, according to a survey by Garage Living: 20

According to findings of a Wall Street Journal survey done in 2016, percentage of homeowners who are satisfied with their garage and wouldn't want to improve it: 11

Source: Garage Living.

Despite Americans' worries about health care and long-term care costs in retirement, percentage who want to live for a century, but only if they're living well, according to an Edward Jones and Age Wave study: 69

Of those Americans who want to live to 100, percentage who indicated that they hope to live longer because they want to spend more years with family and friends: 35

Source: Edward Jones and Age Wave.

Percentage of Americans who say that they are at least somewhat concerned about the safety and privacy of the personal data that they provide on the internet, according to an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Google: 84

Percentage of Americans who routinely check the security settings of their online accounts: 63

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of people who feel that they currently don't get holistic financial advice, according to WalletHub's 2022 financial health survey: 62

Number of times more likely young people are than those over 59 to say a complete look at their financial health would be very helpful: 3

Percentage of respondents who think a credit score alone is not sufficient for managing their finances: 55

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of students who are concerned about the economy, according to CreditCards.com: 93

Ranks of not finding a job and being followed by student loan debt on the list of post-graduation fears among students: 1, 2

Percentage of students who think that a college education is less important due to the COVID-19 pandemic: 20

Percentage who say their school is not doing enough to educate them about personal finance: 52

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of business leaders who agree that data and analytics enable them to make decisions faster, according to a survey by Alteryx Inc.: 78

Percentage of C-suite leaders who fear they are falling behind the competition as their data strategy stagnates: 48

Percentage of C-suite executives who say they have driven business-changing outcomes through self-service analytics, while only 12% of non-leadership workers reported having the same opportunity: 58

Source: Alteryx Inc.

Percentage of Americans who report that they have not talked with their loved ones about how they would like to spend their final years, according to research from Home Instead Inc. and the Marist College Poll: 45

Percentage of all adults who report the coronavirus pandemic has made them more likely to talk about end-of-life plans: 48

Source: Home Instead Senior Care.

Percentage of parents who underestimate the risks of spring sunshine and do not protect their children correctly, according to a study carried out by parent magazine Kinderzeit.org: 91

Percentage who overestimate the length of time their child can spend in the sun safely: 80

Percentage who say that they tend to forget to apply sunscreen on their children during the first days of spring: 91

Source: Kinderzeit.org.

Percentage of U.S. business owners who have increased their business insurance policy limits to account for inflation, according to a study by Selective Insurance: 43

Percentage of business owners who do not fully understand the scope of their insurance coverage: 38

Percentage of business owners who have not purchased insurance for their business: 22

Source: Selective Insurance Group Inc.

Idle Thought

"The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them." -- Chinua Achebe, writer and professor (1930-2013)