A new survey authorized by the Fifth Third Bank and performed by Research Now, reveals that Americans have limited financial knowledge and stability, based on The Corliss Group online magazine report.

The survey was conducted from March 5 to 17 and had 1,068 respondents.

Ninety percent of Americans didn't know that individuals under the age of 50 can make contributions up to $18,000 a year to a 401(k) plan.

57.9% of those surveyed said they were financially knowledgeable and 38.5% understood the annual percentage rate (APR) on their primary credit card.

In addition, 60% did not have sufficient savings to survive for at least 6 months.

A certified financial planner Eric Meermann, who is based in Scarsdale, N.Y., said that financial literacy is truly a big concern and based on the survey, it is not focused on nearly enough.

55.8% of those surveyed knew what a credit score measures. Meermann says that you should have a focus on getting a good credit score if you wish to be able to accomplish many things that a lot of Americans consider important. Simply because the better credit you have, the better terms and fees you can get on your debt.

Strikingly, only 13.3% of the younger generation knew the maximum amount they could put into a 401(k) plan for the year. This indicates that the gaps in finances and knowledge among Millennials were also surprising.

Stacie Haas, a spokeswoman for Fifth Third Bank says that when she was younger, she would see her parents balancing their checkbook and actually going to the bank to make a payment.

She thinks that you don't see that anymore, and she also thinks that kids these days don't grow up witnessing the daily management of money. It just happens around them or inside the cellphone or laptop.

"They do not understand there's a real management level to this. You don't just make it and spend it."

The Fifth Third Bank's senior vice president of community and economic development, Camino Smith says that younger people are not going to understand financial issues in school if they don't achieve it in home, because schools usually doesn't have a lot of financial literacy courses or themes provided within the curriculum.

Fifth Third Bank provides different type of financial literacy program such as the "young bankers club" that has educated thousands of fifth-graders about the benefits of maintaining a budget and other guidelines regarding money.

Another program instructs adults how to pay for a home, as well as retirement and higher education.

Smith added that there many Baby Boomers retiring who are not prepared for retirement, and somehow they're going to have to be supported or reduce their standard of living. And that's not good for the economy or the country as a whole.

He also thinks that if individuals make financial literacy more of a priority in the education system, it could truly help the next generation, and generations to come.

For more information and updates check our Corliss Group Online Financial Mag Blogspot or you can follow us on Twitter @CorlissGroupMag.
 

Every two seconds someone has their identity stolen. The holiday shopping season is in full swing and the scammers, crooks and identity thieves are on the prowl.

Financial guru Deborah Owens joined Roland Martin on "NewsOne Now" to discuss what you can do to avoid becoming the next victim of fraud and how to keep you, your identity and your money safe from would be thieves this holiday season.

One thing people can do to avoid being taken advantage of online is to be aware of phising schemes. These schemes present fake web sites that look like real web sites of retailers, banks and other financial institutions.

Owens told Martin people can protect themselves by looking at the URL and making sure that there is an "http" and an "s" in the address.

America's wealth coach advises people to not "click on anything. Go to the actual website" of the online retailer you wish to purchase merchandise from.

"The reason why this is so important at this time of year is because our guards are down." Owens added, when we're on a mission "to get that perfect gift what you need to understand is that [you] don't [want to] make yourself somebody else's gift."

Part of protecting yourself from potential thieves involves "being aware of your surroundings" and being conscious of what you are carrying on your person when you go out shopping.

Owens cautioned us to not take all of our credit cards with us when we go shopping. She said, "one credit card and some cash is probably what you want to do so in the event, if something does happen" everything is not stolen and you don't have to try to create all that information again.

Corliss Group Online Financial Mag is a stock-market education website designed to teach beginners how to trade shares. Corliss Group Online Financial Mag does this in a manner easy to understand and uses only relevant and essential information required to trade shares on the stock market.

Large banks and trading firms are frantically trying to determine whether they have fallen victim to a suspected commodities fraud emanating from the giant Qingdao Port in northeast China. Citigroup and several other large Western banks are concerned that their loans may lack the appropriate collateral, big stockpiles of copper and aluminum at the port. The banks have inspectors on the ground who are trying to assess whether enough of the metals are there. The worry stems from suspicions that a Chinese companies pledged the same collateral for multiple loans. Chinese authorities are investigating the matter. The case could have broad repercussions for the commodities market and the Chinese economy. Banks have funneled billions of dollars into the Chinese economy through these murky transactions, and commodities prices have been falling over concerns that such lending will dry up. Western banks, including Citigroup, are bracing for any potential fallout. Just months ago, Citigroup fell victim to a multimillion-dollar fraud in Mexico. If the Qingdao developments harm the bank, regulators and shareholders are likely to press it to explain why its controls had failed again. Chinese companies are at risk, too.