Milou van Hassel (34) is 21 years old when she ends up in debt: the result of a break up and a house under water. Motivated, she starts paying off – for ten years – until she finally hits zero again. Now, three years later and now a successful entrepreneur, she is ready to share her story. With this she reaches LinkedIn nearly a million people. “It is bizarre how many Dutch people are in the same boat.”
A friend, a job, a house: at the age of 21, Milou has it all done. But then the relationship with her boyfriend breaks down in the middle of the crisis and the two are forced to sell their house underwater. In the prime of her life, Milou is left with a towering debt. “Eventually we were able to sell our house at the purchase price, but we had also renovated a lot. We no longer covered those costs.”
pay off
A year-long period of repayment begins. The stage of life that Milou is in at that moment makes it extra complicated for her. “The impact of thousands of euros in debt is enormous at such a young age – the older you get, the less debt you feel. Besides, I was ashamed at the time, so I kept the misery to myself. I started juggling money. Then there was cup-a-soup on the table so I could go out anyway.”
Looking back now, Milou regrets not ringing the bell with aid organizations. “There are so many agencies that can teach you ways to pay off, that can make a big mountain small. But I never sought that help, with the result that my guilt was a millstone around my neck for years. That’s why I couldn’t take anything with it, every other miss came in extra hard. Then I took a small step forward, but I feel like three steps back.”
For years I felt I was lagging behind my peers, but now I finally felt like I was where I was supposed to be
From debt to success
Ten years and a lot of blood, sweat and tears later, Milou is finally hitting zero again. “A relief, for sure. That feeling, of: I’ve given up and am brooding, but now everything will be okay. For years I felt I was lagging behind my peers, but now it finally felt like I was where I was supposed to be.”
The phase that follows also gives Milou confidence in the future. ,,I call it the build-up phase, in which you make progress again in the right direction.” A phase that turns out much better for Milou than she could have hoped. Together with her new partner she can buy a house again and she also starts her own company, which is a great success. ,,In the past twelve months I earned more than I ever was in minus. I was able to do this partly thanks to my new partner, who is good with money and who has given me confidence again. And thanks to the peace of mind I took to set up my own business, it finally paid off.”
When you find yourself in such a situation, you often feel that you are alone. But that’s really not the case
In the same boat
Milou can now say that she is debt-free and financially dependent on no one anymore. And so she decides to put a symbolic end to this difficult period in her life. With her own money, earned with her own company, she buys a motorcycle. “I fantasized about that for years. For me it is the ultimate starting point of a new phase. And a bit of a middle finger to the past.”
But Milou also concludes the past thirteen years by sharing her story. “Although my LinkedIn post was a fairly spontaneous action. Those are actually all my posts: I like to share personal stories on the platform, I’m known for that by now. I think it’s important to broach subjects that people walk around with a big bow. I also think this topic is not discussed enough.”
And many with her, it turns out. Because Milou gets hundreds of reactions from people who are grateful that she shares her story so openly. “It’s amazing how many Dutch people are in the same boat. When you find yourself in such a situation, you often feel that you are alone. But that’s really not the case. I hope people can see that through my story.”
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