Posted on: Sunday, August 24, 2008
The after-work-drinks crowd spills its secrets
Compiled by John MacIntyre
Percentage of U.S. workers, who regularly attend after-work drinks with co-workers, who say they bad-mouthed a colleague, according to a survey for www.CareerBuilder.com: 16
Percentage who kissed a colleague: 8
Percentage who confessed to singing karaoke: 4
OLYMPIC OPTIMISM
Percentage of American teens who agree that the Olympics help to build a better and more peaceful world, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive: 62
Percentage of teens interested in the Olympics who agree that the Games are about more than merely medals and marketing: 71
BETTER KEEP THE HEAP
At the end of four years, the expense of keeping a 2003 6-cylinder, 4-door sedan that gets 21 miles per gallon — including costs of fuel, license, registration, taxes, insurance, maintenance and tires — according to Runzheimer International: $16,548
With a resale value of $3,759, the total four-year cost: $12,789
At the end of four years, the expense of buying a new 6-cylinder, 4-door sedan with 23.5 mpg that costs $23,451 with a down payment of $10,158 — the trade-in value of the older car — and including the car payment, interest on the car loan, fuel, license, registration, taxes, insurance, maintenance and tires: $32,258
With a resale value of $8,575, the total four-year expense: $23,683
Over the four-year period, the difference in the savings between keeping a car and buying a new one: $10,894
FEAR OF MOVING
Estimated number of Americans who move to new locations every year, according to research conducted by the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing: 40 million
Percentage of adults who admit to feeling some level of anxiety about moving: 70
Percentage who say they "dread it completely": 35
INDEBTED AMERICANS
Percentage of Americans ages 18 to 39 who say they have credit card debt, according to Employee Benefit Research Institute: 63
Percentage who have a car debt: 48
Percentage who have a student loan debt: 31
Percentage who have medical debt: 27
WORK OPTIONS
Estimated number of U.S. workers who telecommute at least once a week, according to a CCH nationwide survey: 22 million
Percentage of U.S. companies that offer telecommuting programs: 53
Percentage of employers who offer a compressed work week option: 45
INFORMATION TOOLS
Ranks of online training (60 percent), video conferencing (52 percent) and collaborative-workspace software (43 percent) as the most popular responses made by chief information officers when asked which tools their firms currently use or anticipate using, according to Robert Half Technology: 1, 2, 3
DOIN' THE GREEN THING
Percentage of car shoppers who say they have made changes to further the betterment of the environment, according Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research study: 75
Ranks of recycling (54 percent), driving less (46 percent) and purchasing a fuel-efficient car (31 percent) as the top lifestyle changes mentioned: 1, 2, 3
FOREIGN HOME BUYERS
Estimated number of homes in the U.S. that were sold to foreign nationals from May 2007 to May 2008, according to the 2008 National Association of Realtors: 150,000 to 190,000
Cost of a single-family vacation home purchased by the typical international buyer: $297,400
Length of time that the typical international owner stayed at his or her U.S. property during the year: 2.6 months
IDLE THOUGHT
"Real success is finding your life work in the work that you love." — David McCullough Reach John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.
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