Charlotte Cowles, The Cut Journalist Profile

Articles

The Teacher Who Was in Medical Debt for Decades

6 days 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

1 week 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?

1 week 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

1 week 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

1 week 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 week 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.

2 weeks 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.
Should You Pay Rent When Moving Into a Partner’s House?

3 weeks ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images My boyfriend and I have a strong relationship, and we’re planning to move in together. The catch is he already owns a house, whereas I rent my apartment. We make similar incomes and feel comfortable splitting expenses evenly. I would want to contribute to housing costs, but it seems a bit unfair to split a mortgage payment down the middle when it’s going toward the house he ultimately owns.
Where Lifestyle Creep Really Starts

4 weeks ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images When Anjali got a promotion last year, she didn’t intend to change anything about her life, even though her new position (associate art director at an ad agency) came with a 20 percent raise. She’s 28 and had never been able to save much money, so she figured she’d finally start. “I always felt like I was scraping by, and I wanted to have more security,” she says.
This Recession Scare Feels Different. Here’s What to Do About It.

1 month ago | thecut.com | Charlotte Cowles

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images I wish we’d been wrong about how bad things would get when some very powerful men started ignoring the Constitution in order to decimate the federal government and enrich themselves. But as it turns out, it’s even worse than anticipated! And this is only the beginning. Even if your job isn’t one of the many thousands under direct threat by the Trump administration’s widespread cuts, you’ve probably noticed an ominous chill.