BLOOMINGTON - A new financial survey shows Americans longing for the days before the recession and they fear that economy will never return.

The survey shows more Americans think the pre-recession economy is truly a thing of the past - with men showing far more pessimism than women. Country Financial's Manager of Financial Security Support, Joe Buhrmann, said the survey confirms many doubts Americans have about an economic rebound.

"There's a lot of uncertainty anywhere, whether it's in the economy. Most of these have seen improvements in numbers since the 2008 recession even though it may not feel like it," Buhrmann said.

Buhrmann said those sentiments of uncertainty are causing Americans to show more financial restraint.

"We are seeing that many Americans are doing exactly what we recommend and what they should do. We saw that half of Americans have permanently changed how they are managing money," Buhrmann said.

Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they will cut spending or downsize, 16 percent plan to more closely follow a budget, 11 percent will reduce expenses on credit and four percent are planning to make more conservative investments. Thirty percent reported they planned to do all of the above.

The survey showed Americans split over whether their financial situation would improve more through personal change such as getting a bettter paying job or government change by lowering the national debt.

The survey showed Americans are cautiously optimistic that they can be financially secure.

You can see the entire survey at www.countryfinancialsecurityindex.com.

Eric Stock can be reached at eric.stock@cumulus.com.