The American dream is fading. For many Americans, the idea is this: Simply survive. The borrow-and-spend-your-way-to-happiness model has evaporated. Now the harsh light of economic reality is pouring through the windows.

In its latest “Study of the American Dream” survey, MetLife reports that the country has “experienced major changes” that will likely leave “a lasting impact on how Americans achieve and sustain the dream.” The American dream has “once again been revised—possibly to a greater extent than could have been imagined just one year ago.”

Where previous generations generally defined the American dream as a combination of a good family life, home ownership, and a degree of financial security, the 2009 study found that the Americans dream now consists of an almost singular focus on financial security.

Paying the bills and putting food on the table has become the main concern for growing numbers of Americans. And more Americans define the dream not as a destination, but as a “never-ending chase.” The report’s executive summary states:

Across generations, the economic crisis has been a loud wake-up call for consumers. Economic concerns that arose in 2007—e.g., savings, job security, retirement shortfalls—have expanded dramatically over the past 12 months; cracks in the foundation of the American dream have worsened considerably. Concerns about the health of the American economy, inadequate personal safety nets and the erosion of corporate and social safety nets have left major portions of the American public—across all socio and economic demographics—exposed to financial hardship (possibly even ruin) on a scale not seen in most Americans’ lifetimes.

Americans are living on the edge. Half of those surveyed said they could only meet their financial obligations for one month if they were to lose their job. Almost 28 percent said they could not even last two weeks.

A whopping 72 percent of America’s population says it doesn’t have enough savings to last more than three months.

That means losing your job, even if you find a new one quickly, could break the bank if you are one of over 70 million workers in risky financial shape. With 491,000 more jobs lost in April according to the adp employment index, many people are having trouble sleeping at night. MetLife found that even among the affluent (those making more than $100,000 per year), more than half are worried about losing their job over the next 12 months, and 53 percent said they are concerned about having to file for bankruptcy in the event of a job loss.

The survey found that the majority of people believe they are already working as hard as ever or harder than ever just to get by.

And job losses are just about guaranteed to pile up over the coming months. Don’t be fooled if the economy shows some signs of a turnaround later this year or next year. America’s economy is undergoing an unprecedented breakdown, and government authorities have borrowed, spent and created unprecedented amounts of money to combat it. However, throwing money at structural problems only produces temporary results.

See the “Related Material” sidebar to the upper right for helpful ways to manage your own finances.