Charlotte Cowles, The Cut Journalist Profile

Articles

How to Gracefully Turn Down a Wedding Invitation You Can’t Afford

1 week ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images One of your closest friends gets engaged, invites you to drinks, and asks you to be a bridesmaid. “Of course!” you say. This is the person who held your hand during your shittiest, most embarrassing breakup and put you in a cab the night you tried to make out with your ex; you did her laundry while she had the flu. You’re in all the same group chats. Frankly, it would be weird if she didn’t ask. You’re excited. Then the specifics start rolling in.
Help, My Student Loans in Forbearance Are Now in Default!

2 weeks ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images A month ago, Lydia received a chilling alert from her federal student-loan servicer. She was delinquent on her loans, the notice said, and about to go into default. “I had no idea what they were talking about,” she says. “I was supposed to be in forbearance. I’d never even gotten a bill.” Lydia, who requested a pseudonym to protect her privacy, is 30 and works at a nonprofit in Chicago.
‘How I Quit Shopping’

2 weeks ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images It seems almost beside the point to tell people to shop less right now. For the most part, buying stuff isn’t what makes us broke; it’s the cost of health care, education, rent, child care — things we don’t have much control over, at least individually. But still, could we all use fewer things and more money? Probably.
The Teacher Who Was in Medical Debt for Decades

3 weeks ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Illustration: Olivier Heiligers This week, we’re deep-diving into the finances of people who faced tens of thousands of dollars of debt — and somehow managed to pay it all off. Below, meet Annette, 46, who was an elementary-school teacher in Texas for almost 20 years. Her credit-card debt peaked at over $37,000 in 2020, but then she paid it off in under two years by switching careers and side-hustling. Here’s how she did it.
The Actor Whose Gigs Dried Up During the Pandemic

3 weeks ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

This week, we’re deep-diving into the finances of people who faced tens of thousands of dollars in debt — and somehow managed to pay it all off. Below, meet Dani, a 38-year-old private-school administrator and mom of two in Los Angeles. When she and her husband lost work during the pandemic, she put $23,000 on credit cards to cover their expenses. It took four years to pay it off. Here’s how she did it. I’ve always been against credit cards.
What Are the Real Consequences for Not Paying Student Loans?

4 weeks ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Last month, Nadia got a letter in the mail saying her federal student-loan payment was past due. “It said that I owed more than $3,000 immediately,” she says. “I completely freaked out. I had no idea it was due, or why it was that high, or where I’d get the money to pay it.” A 32-year-old video producer who lives in Atlanta, Nadia hadn’t seen a student-loan bill since 2020, when payments were paused during the pandemic.
The Woman Who Went on a Shopping Spree After Breaking Off an Engagement

4 weeks ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

“I posted all these pictures of fancy trips I took, but I couldn’t sleep at night.” This week, we’re deep-diving into the finances of people who faced tens of thousands of dollars in debt — and somehow managed to pay it all off. Below, meet Anna, a 45-year-old who works at a software company in Minneapolis. After a major breakup, she spent $32,000 across 12 credit cards. It took her five years to pay it all off. Here’s how she did it.
The Woman Who Quit Her Job to Take Care of Her Dad

4 weeks ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

“I didn’t work for eight months. The anxiety of all that debt was debilitating.” This week, we’re deep-diving into the finances of people who faced tens of thousands of dollars of debt — and somehow managed to pay it all off. Below, meet Sonia, a 30-year-old who works for a tech company in San Francisco. When her dad got sick in 2023, she quit her job to help take care of him.
The Shopping Addict Who Spent $35K on Clothes and Shoes

1 month ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Illustration: Olivier Heiligers This week, we’re doing a deep dive into the finances of people who have faced tens of thousands of dollars in debt — and somehow managed to pay it all off. Below, meet Alex, a 25-year-old Ph.D. student in New York who racked up $35,000 in credit-card debt in five months and then paid it off in two and a half years. Here’s how he did it.
Where’s Your Tax Refund? There’s Nobody Left to Stop Fraud.

1 month ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Two years ago, Sam, a high-school teacher in his 30s, filed his taxes online and got a confusing surprise: a rejection notice. When he Googled the rejection code, he learned that someone else had filed under his Social Security number, a common practice that identity thieves use to intercept and steal people’s tax refunds. He had been defrauded.