It may sound harsh, but the huge increase in the number of households with money problems may hold a ray of hope. Because skyrocketing energy bills and inflation are affecting so many people in our country that money problems - previously still mostly a taboo surrounded by shame - can suddenly become discussable.

"We now have a chance to finally break down the taboos surrounding poverty and money stress, free of all prejudice and clichés," says researcher Minou van der Werf of Maastricht University (UM). Because it is precisely those ancient prejudices - poverty is supposed to be mainly a matter of one's own fault after all - that keep the problems going, Van der Werf believes. She conducts research on poverty at the Brightlands Campus in Heerlen.

Read more in Dagblad de Limburger