Feeding four in the city

One family of four employs creative solutions to live off of one income in their Brooklyn apartment.

by Ruth Moon

For Amy Osgood, 29, and her husband Kevin, penny-pinching is a way of life.

Kevin’s annual salary of $105,000 may seem like a lot, but it can evaporate quickly with the costs of living in New York City.

Osgood and her family have come up with creative solutions to combat the high cost of living. Her oldest child, Chaz, is just starting gym class at 3 years old. Most of his classmates have been taking the class for a while and are enrolled in several other activities, but the class is Chaz’s only paid activity.

Osgood also plans to take both Chaz and his younger brother, Declan, to free parks and swimming pools in the city this summer.

The free pools are competitive, Osgood said.

“You’re supposed to be there early and hopefully you get a spot,” she said. “We’ll see. That’s kind of our activity – we just go to different parks everywhere.”

She is also saving money by breastfeeding Declan, although she is doing it primarily for health reasons.

Osgood also takes the subway to get around the city rather than purchasing a car for transportation.

The Osgoods said that, in the end, they feel like they’d be dealing with the same spending and savings issues no matter where they live.