Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of teens who would be more interested in starting their own business than having a traditional job, according to a survey by Junior Achievement USA: 60

Of teens who are interested in starting their own business, percentage who cite social media influencers/celebrities as their top inspiration: 37

Percentage of teens who feel it's most beneficial to hear about starting their own business from business owners: 45

Source: Junior Achievement.

Percentage of winter holiday shoppers who started their shopping in August, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 11

Percentage who are expected to start their holiday shopping by Oct. 31: 50

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Average number of days a house stayed on the market in August, the first increase in days in more than two years, according to Realtor.com: 42

Median home listing price in August, down from June's record-high $450,000: $435,000

Source: Realtor.com.

Percentage of Americans who say a loved one owes them money, according to a survey by LendingTree: 31

Median amount of money owed: $4,000

Percentage of those who gave money to a loved one who say they now regret it: 41

Source: LendingTree.

Value of global purchase transactions by credit cards in 2020, according to the latest data from the Nilson Report: $467.5 billion

Percentage of those transactions accounted for by Visa: 40

Percentage accounted for by MasterCard: 24

Percentage accounted for by UnionPay of China: 32

Source: The Nilson Report.

Percentage of U.S. companies that say they are hiring for new roles in the second half of 2022, according to a survey by Robert Half: 46

Percentage who will bring in more contract talent: 45

Percentage of managers who worry about workers quitting: 75

Source: Robert Half.

Ranks of the economy, their socioeconomic status, financial literacy, career choice and education level on the list of factors that college students say hold them back the most financially, according to a survey by WalletHub: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage of students who say the pandemic made them more concerned about their financial future: 86

Percentage of college students who get help with credit card bills from their parents: 37

Source: WalletHub.

Age group that is the most likely to report being vegetarian or vegan, according to a report by Packaged Facts: 18 to 24

Rank of vegetarians and vegans as the group most likely to report being parents of children under 18 and living with children: 1

Source: Packaged Facts.

Of 1,000 homeowners planning or working on home projects, percentage who say their primary residence needs at least minor renovations, according to a survey by Angi: 91

Percentage who say their home needs major renovations: 36

Percentage of homeowners who anticipate their 2022 home projects will cost $10,000 or more: 60

Source: Angi.

Average length of an RV trip, according to RVshare.com: 330 miles

Average MPG an RV gets: 15

Average increase in the cost of fuel per gallon this year compared to last year: $1.50

Source: RVshare.

Idle Thought

"Every increased possession loads us with new weariness." -- John Ruskin, author, art critic and social reformer (1819-1900)

On average across 26 countries, rank of Peru, Colombia and Mexico on the list of countries that have the highest proportion of people saying they have started a business in the past, according to an Ipsos poll: 1, 2, 3� Rank of South Korea, France, Belgium and Japan on the list of countries with the lowest rates of entrepreneurial experience: Bottom 4� Percentage globally (25% in the U.S.) that say that the private sector does a good job fostering entrepreneurialism in their country: 31� Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of employed U.S. adults who expressed concern that their paycheck is not enough to support themselves or their families, according to a survey by the American Staffing Association: 58� Percentage who plan to start a second job to supplement their income: 27� Percentage who plan to ask for a raise from their current employer: 20

Source: American Staffing Association.

Rank of Barack Obama (131.6 million), Justin Bieber (114.3) and Katy Perry (108.9 million) with the most followers on Twitter, according to Statista: 1, 2, 3� Source: Statista.

After George Floyd's murder, percentage of Black Americans who expected policy changes to address racial inequality, according Pew Research: 50� In 2021, percentage of Black Americans who say increased attention to racial inequality has not led to changes that are improving Black people's lives: 65� Source: Pew Research Center.

Percentage of Baby Boomers who say Social Security benefits represent the primary source of their retirement income, according to a survey by Nationwide: 49� Percentage of Baby Boomers who say retirement accounts represent their primary source of income: 14� Percentage who said they have a pension: 22� Source: Nationwide.

Percentage of whole milk drinkers who say they eat what they want regardless of calories, according to a survey by Packaged Facts: 66� Percentage of skim milk drinkers who say nutritional value is the most important factor in foods they purchase: 50

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of Americans who like to hunt for online deals just for fun, according to a survey by Slickdeals: 65� Percentage who brag to friends about a deal they found online: 56� Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of parents who say they spent more on back-to-school shopping this year compared to last year, according to a WalletHub back-to-school report: 33� Number of states that held sales tax holidays at varying times in July, August and September and offered savings of up to 7% on popular back-to-school items: 18� Source: WalletHub.

Among U.S. parents of children younger than 18, percentage who say it is difficult to afford child care, according to a survey by Morning Consult: 43� Among parents with kids under 18, percentage who said they already have or plan to resort to using credit cards or acquiring other debt to pay for care: 35� Source: Morning Consult.

Idle Thought

"It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing." -- Gertrude Stein, novelist, poet and playwright (1874-1946)

Percentage of Americans who say that more young adults living with their parents is bad for society, according to the Pew Research Center: 36

Percentage who say it is good for society: 16

Percentage who say it doesn't make a difference: 47

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

Percentage of Americans who worry about the Social Security program running out of funding in their lifetime, according to a survey by Nationwide: 70

Percentage who strongly or somewhat agree they will not get a dime of the Social Security benefits they have earned: 33

Source: Nationwide.

Average annual insurance cost in 2022 after a DUI, according to ValuePenguin: $3,683

Average annual insurance cost after an accident: $2,882

Average annual insurance cost after a speeding violation: $2,430

Source: ValuePenguin.com.

Number of deaths annually that are caused by distracted driving, according to research from Policygenius.com: 3,142

Rank of using a phone or handheld device as the No. 1 cause of distracted driving: 1

Percentage of all distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes accounted for by the age group 25 to 34: 23

Source: Policygenius.com.

Average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S., according to Statista: $3.99

Price in Norway: $6.27

Price in Saudi Arabia: $0.91

Source: Statista.

Percentage of teachers in the United States who report the use of software that tracks students' online activity on devices like laptops or tablets in their schools, according to research released by the Center for Democracy and Technology: 89

Percentage of teachers whose school uses monitoring software who say that students have been flagged for disciplinary action: 78

Source: Center for Democracy and Technology.

Percentage of college students who say their financial literacy improved due to the pandemic, according to WalletHub's 2022 College Student Financial Survey: 80

Percentage of students who say it's worth going into debt for a college education: 68

Percentage who say they don't feel prepared to be on their own financially: 25

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of all students who say colleges should allow students to be exposed to all types of speech even if they may find it offensive or biased: 59

Percentage who say speech rights are secure, a share that has fallen every year since this question was first asked in 2016: 47

Percentage who say they feel comfortable voicing disagreement with their instructor: 49

Percentage who say they feel comfortable voicing disagreement with their peers: 52

Source: Knight Foundation.

Ranks of discovering another culture, developing an expanded view of the world and meeting people abroad on the list of the most common goals of students who have studied abroad or had plans to do so, according to a survey from BestColleges.com: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of students who plan to prioritize traveling in the near term after college: 51

Percentage who say that budgeting for travel is important to them: 72

Percentage who say that the experience of traveling is worth the expense: 66

Source: BestColleges.com.

Percentage of Americans who feel like they can't afford their previous lifestyle of the past few years, according to consumer sentiment survey on inflation conducted by NCSolutions: 45

Percentage who say their family has changed how they buy food: 76

Percentage who are more mindful of spending on groceries: 66

Percentage of consumers who say they're buying fewer nonessentials: 46

Source: NCSolutions.

Idle Thought

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. " -- Edgar Allan Poe, writer (1809-1849)