Number of years that PNC Bank has calculated the cost, or "Christmas Price Index," of "true love's" gifts based on the holiday song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," according to PNC: 39

Based on the cost of the gifts in the song, percentage growth in the total price for 2022, the third-highest year-over-year increase in history of PNC's holiday calculation: 10.5

Overall cost to buy all 12 gifts in the song in 2022, a record: $45,523.27

Percentage of gifts that involve birds in the Christmas Price Index, with an overall increase in bird and feed prices a significant factor in this year's cost: 50

Approximate percentage jump in the prices for the turtle doves ($600), French hens ($318.75) and geese ($720) in 2022: 9

Source: PNC Financial Services Group.

Percentage of Americans in 2020 who didn't pay off holiday bills before the next holiday season, according to research by Consolidated Credit: 30

Number of payments it would take a person making the minimum payment on $1,381 in holiday credit card debt to pay off the debt: 87

Length of time this would take: 7 years, 3 months

Source: Consolidated Credit.

Percentage of all money made through ransomware attacks that went to Russian hackers, according to The Conference Board: 74

Ranks of the government (16%), health care (11%) and manufacturing/industry (10%) as the three most frequently attacked sectors: 1, 2, 3

Source: The Conference Board.

Estimated number of people who watch World Cup soccer, according to research by LELO: 3 billion

Percentage of these people who find watching football more exciting than having sex: 20

Percentage who would have sex even though football is on TV: 72

Percentage who would position themselves so that they can see the TV while having sex: 8

Source: LELO.

Percentage of Americans who worked from home in October 2022, according to a survey by Slickdeals: 29.1

Percentage who worked from home during the same period last year: 29.5

Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of U.S. adults who reveal that they have been targeted by a scam while shopping online, according to a study from Norton conducted by the Harris Poll: 25

Percentage of all shoppers who report that they have fallen victim to a scam during the holiday shopping season: 40

Source: Norton by Symantec.

Percentage who said they would consider a store financing or payment plan to cover the costs of gifts, according to an Oracle Retail consumer research study: 71

Percentage of people who noted that cost will be the main factor in moving them from a browser to a buyer: 47

Source: Oracle CX.

Percentage of Americans who plan to do their holiday grocery shopping early, according to NCSolutions: 25

Percentage who say they enjoy watching holiday advertising and will turn to culinary websites for cooking inspiration: 47

Percentage who say they will turn to social media: 39

Percentage who will turn to how-to videos: 35

Source: NCSolutions.

Percentage of firms surveyed by Randstad that could be considered highly responsive to the rapidly changing business landscape: 15

Number of times more likely that responsive enterprises are to respond to customer expectations than nonresponsive enterprises: 3

Number of times more adept they are at accelerating changes to meet market demands: 6

Source: Randstad.

Percentage of people between the ages of 50 and 80 who said it was very or somewhat important to live in their homes as long as possible as they age, according to a University of Michigan poll: 88

Percentage who have put consideration into how their homes should be modified to accommodate their changing needs: 15

Source: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

Idle Thought

"The notion of making money by popular work, and then retiring to do good work, is the most familiar of all the devil's traps for artists." -- Logan Pearsall Smith, essayist (1865-1946)

The average number of seconds separating incidents of cyberattack in the U.S., according to a study by The Conference Board: 39

Percentage of malware attacks on companies that were ransomware -- up from 45% in 2020: 60

Percentage of ransomware attacks on businesses that impacted their ability to operate: 90

Source: The Conference Board.

Percentage of consumers who say they are going to spend the same amount of money this holiday season as last season, but on fewer gifts, according to Debt.com survey: 31

Percentage who said they are willing to spend more, but on quality gifts: 18

Source: Debt.com.

Estimated number of holiday shoppers who will shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year -- up by 8 million over last year and the highest estimate since NRF began tracking this data in 2017, according to an annual survey by the National Retail Federation: 166.3 million

Percentage of holiday shoppers who plan to shop during Thanksgiving weekend this year: 69

Ranks of deals being too good to pass up, because of tradition or because it is something to do on the list of the top reasons consumers shopped during Thanksgiving weekend: 1, 2, 3

Source: NRF.

Percentage of parents of undergraduates who reported their student likely applied to up to 10 schools, with 31% of saying their student applied anywhere from six to 10 schools, according to a College Ave survey of parents of undergraduates conducted by Barnes and Noble College Insights: 90

Percentage who enjoyed helping their child with their college essays: 57

Percentage who found filling out college applications stressful: 31

Source: College Ave Student Loans.

Percentage of American employees who say they fully disconnect from work during vacation, according to a survey by Eagle Hill Consulting: 54

Percentage who say they check work email and messages: 28

Percentage who say they continue to work during vacation: 16

Source: Eagle Hill Consulting.

Percentage of consumers who have changed their shopping habits so they don't have to deal with the return process at all, according to a survey commissioned by Slickdeals: 52

Ranks of phones, clothing and TVs on the list of the top items worth returning: 1 (tie), 3

If they plan on returning an item, percentage of respondents who said they don't put it back in its original packaging: 48

Source: Slickdeals.

Beyond Thanksgiving, percentage of American households that anticipate having 10 or more people at other holiday celebrations (up 9% from 2021): 40

Source: Omaha Steaks.

Percentage of Americans who say the No. 1 reason they have credit card debt is because of covering emergencies and unexpected expenses, according to creditcards.com: 46

Percentage who cite day-to-day expenses like groceries, childcare and utilities: 24

Source: creditcards.com.

Percentage of global C-level business leaders who are increasingly concerned about climate change and see the world at a tipping point to act, according to a survey by Deloitte: 79

Percentage who said their companies have already been negatively impacted by climate change: 97

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of Americans who say they have not received any workplace training in the last year: 56

Percentage who say it would make them more engaged in their role: 40

Source: Carrus.

Idle Thought

"In the small matters, trust the mind; in the large ones, the heart." -- Sigmund Freud

Percentage of the U.S. population that is foreign born, the highest percentage since 1910, according to U.S. Census Bureau data: 13.7

Percentage of homes in Miami owned by foreign-born residents, the highest proportion of any city in the U.S., according to LendingTree: 26

Source: LendingTree.

Amount of money that U.S. adults age 18 and older anticipate they will need to retire comfortably, a 20% rise since 2021, according to Northwestern Mutual: $1.25 million

Average age to which retirement has increased, up from 62.6 in 2021: 64

Source: Northwestern Mutual.

Approximate number of homes that are invaded by rodents each winter, according to a survey conducted for Vault Communications: 21 million

Size of an opening a mouse can squeeze through: equivalent to a dime

Source: Vault Communications.

Percentage of Americans who have been on a traditional diet who say it lasted, according to a survey by Medifast: 28

Percentage who say they're likely to revert to previous eating behaviors after completing or giving up on a diet: 79

Percentage of adults who agree they would be more successful in reaching their health goals if they had more support: 67

Source: Medifast.

Percentage of Americans who report that they generally feel depressed in the winter, according to the American Psychiatric Association: 24

Percentage who say their overall mood declines in the winter: 38

Percentage, however, who say they do look forward to spending time with friends and family during the holidays: 44

Percentage who say enjoying good food improves their mood: 49

Source: American Psychiatric Association.

Amid a recent 14% increase in annual drunk-driving deaths, percentage of American voters who consider drunk driving a serious problem, according to a poll conducted by traffic safety coalition Sober Driving Solutions, in partnership with Change Research: 93

Percentage who support laws requiring drunk drivers to install ignition interlock devices (IIDs): 69

Percentage who responded that they would feel safer if drunk drivers were required to install an IID: 73

Source: Sober Driving Solutions.

Percentage of parents who agree that critical academic skills (e.g., math, reading, writing) are important for their children to learn in the 2022-2023 school year, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of EF Educational Tours: 98

Percentage who agree that the career-ready skills that employers seek as critical for success are best acquired through real-life immersion learning opportunities and/or education-based travel: 90

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of young renters who reported they experienced a rent increase in the past year, with an average increase of 30%, according to a survey from Grubb Properties: 51

Of these renters, percentage who said they had the resources to cover the increase without changing their lifestyle: 7

Ranks of cutting back on extra purchases, looking for a new job or side gig, and looking for a new place to rent or live on the list of actions the remaining 93% plan to take or have taken to defray costs: 1, 2, 3

Source: Grubb Properties.

Percentage of 13- to 17-year-olds who have access to a smartphone, according to Pew Research: 95

Percentage increase in daily social media use reported by eighth-graders from 2009-2017: 69.6

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who say they are shopping more often now with their mobile phones than just two years ago, according to a survey by Klarna Bank AB: 68

Percentage of U.S. shoppers who use their mobile devices to research products while shopping in physical stores: 68

Source: Klarna Bank AB.

Idle Thought

"Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence." -- Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry (1920-2012)