Paul Haavardsrud unpacks Canadian money stories, from ski-hill VIP pricing to French butter tariffs.
Cost of Living connects personal finance with the wider economy through brisk CBC reporting and plainspoken explanation. It moves from vending machines, candy aisles, wills, and nightlife to oil shocks, housing, and high-speed rail.
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The show follows a magazine-style format rather than a single deep dive: each episode strings together two to three shorter, loosely related segments under the general theme of how money shapes daily life. Host Paul Haavardsrud frames each segment and conducts interviews with a rotating set of guests, including economists (such as Brian Lewis discussing GDP measurement), university researchers (marketing and psychology professors from the University of Guelph), industry analysts (Greenlight Analytics' Brandon Katz on media mergers), and small-business owners (a Calgary butter importer, a PEI honey producer, a young vending-machine entrepreneur). Correspondent Leah Hendry also presents segments alongside Haavardsrud. A small, consistent production team — credited regularly as Jeff Kynock, Jennifer Keene, and Daniel Nerman — appears to work on most episodes. Topics range from macroeconomic questions, including Canada-U.S.-China trade tensions, tariffs, and GDP-per-capita comparisons, to consumer-level stories such as retail pricing tactics at discount chains, penny shopping, sports betting, Hallmark Channel economics, and candy and cocoa prices. The show regularly connects Canadian public-policy questions, like high-speed rail funding or trade diversification, to on-the-ground consumer experience. Episodes run roughly 27-28 minutes and are released weekly, with a tone that alternates between educational explainer and lightly investigative reporting. Guests are typically one-off experts rather than recurring characters, with continuity provided mainly by the host, correspondent, and production team. Listeners interested in Canadian personal finance, retail and small-business trends, or how trade and monetary policy filter down to household costs are the show's core audience. There is no serialized narrative between episodes; each stands alone as a set of explainer/interview segments typical of CBC current-affairs podcasts.
Made for: Canadians curious about how trade policy, retail pricing, and small-business trends translate into everyday household costs.
What sets it apart: Unlike single-topic business or economics shows, each episode packages two or three unrelated consumer-economy segments with short interviews rather than one extended deep dive.
Money talks. We translate. Every Friday, Paul Haavardsrud looks at the way money shapes our lives in ways big, small, obvious, and unseen. From Big Macs to Big Banks, the Cost of Living connects the dots between the economy and everyday life.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Cost of Living makes Canadian economic forces tangible through reported stories about prices, businesses, policy, and the choices households face.
Cost of Living follows money into the places where Canadians actually encounter it. Paul Haavardsrud moves from grocery discounts and inheritance planning to high-speed rail, sports gambling, tariffs, and global oil risk, using reported stories and specialist interviews to…
Penny-priced Walmart hauls meet $350 French butter, with Paul translating the receipt into your economics lesson.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A brisk consumer-business listen about food holidays, retail curiosity, AI risk, and the markets built around attention.
Cost of Living uses a question about odd food finds at Winners as the doorway into a broader business story about manufactured attention. The clearest segment follows National Day Calendar founder Marlo Anderson and marketing professor Nicole Rourke, showing how National Pizza…
A grounded Cost of Living episode on inheritance silence, rail ambition, and why big money decisions need evidence.
Cost of Living puts Canadian money anxiety at two scales: a possible $90 billion high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City, and the quieter but messier problem of inheritances families have not discussed.
A grounded Cost of Living episode on boring businesses, candy spending, and the oil risks behind calm markets.
Cost of Living uses the vending-machine example to make "boring businesses" feel less like a punchline and more like a practical small-business bet.
A consumer-economics tour through earlier nights, penny-shopping loopholes and the rising cost of sports betting.
Cost of Living treats nightlife, penny shopping and sports betting as consumer stories shaped by incentives. The nightlife segment catches venues moving shows earlier because audiences still want to go out, just not stumble home after midnight.
A clear-eyed look at Canada's China trade bet, and why reducing U.S. dependence may mean taking on a different kind of risk.
Canada's China push comes across as less a clean trade win than a hard-nosed attempt to widen its options. The discussion frames the deal as a possible signal to Washington, especially if Ottawa sees little upside in another round of USMCA talks, while keeping the math firmly in…
A concise look at how Scholastic became both a school ritual and a fundraising engine in Canada.
Scholastic's long run in Canadian schools comes through as a sharp little business story about access, nostalgia, and fundraising. The segment is strongest when it shows how book clubs and fairs became part of school life for children and parents alike, with schools getting…
A seasonal look at in-person shopping, algorithmic convenience, and Canada's steadier economic finish.
This Cost of Living episode treats holiday shopping as a pocket-sized economics story: convenience on one side, serendipity on the other. Jason Gurriel makes the case for shopping in person, not out of nostalgia exactly, but because online buying can feel like more screen time,…
A ski-hill pricing story becomes a clear look at luxury access, local loyalty, and everyday affordability.
Cost of Living treats ski-hill pricing as a consumer access story, with Blue Mountain standing in for a bigger question: what happens when leisure businesses start sorting customers by how much impatience they can afford.
Real-estate freedom, taught in plain numbers.
A workplace whiteboard turns into a quick lesson on how national days steer real cravings and spending.
CBC’s Cost of Living asks why Canada could look poorer than Alabama on GDP per capita, then has economist Brian Lewis explain why that comparison is “really, really shaky.” The show uses Kelly Portnoy’s move from Phoenix to Nanaimo, her U.S.
Vending machines are the odd way in.
Going out is sliding earlier.
This episode explores the economic relationship between the U.S.
This episode explores how people are increasingly lying on resumes to get jobs in a tough market and how modern scams have evolved from classic schemes like the Nigerian prince email.
This episode features an interview with energy analyst Rory Johnston discussing the recent surge in oil prices, the economic implications, and the supply disruptions caused by the Strait of Hormuz blockage.
This episode examines the economic impact of the Strait of Hormuz disruption and explores why some prices rise while others fall.
A professor of international affairs discusses the sudden U.S.-Israeli operation in Iran, its duration, goals, and potential impact on global markets and regional stability.
A geopolitical analyst discusses the implications of a major US-Israel military strike in the Middle East, focusing on the human cost and potential impact on oil markets.
This episode explores the concept of mandatory national service as a response to AI job displacement and discusses women's money clubs.
This episode explores the financial challenges of merging finances for couples marrying later in life, plus a look at billionaires and a US tariff ruling.
This episode explores how AI helped fix a car, the cost of limited competition in Canada, and bike theft prevention.
This episode explores the resurgence of gold as an investment and its impact on everyday people, from thrift store hunting to river prospecting.
This episode explores whether Donald Trump poses an existential threat to Canada's century-old auto industry while also examining the impact of vacant historic buildings on downtown areas and consumer banking habits.
This episode examines the legality of U.S.
Canada is looking past its biggest trading partner.
Scholastic memories start early.
This episode explores how AI and digital platforms like YouTube are reshaping pricing models and content consumption, with examples from the Canadian film industry and airline pricing.
This encore episode explores why non-alcoholic drinks are nearly as expensive as alcoholic ones, along with questions about RV living costs and why Canada imports goods it could produce domestically, featuring historical economic insights.
Holiday shopping gets its mall-walk defense.
Vel says he'll keep skiing, but Blue Mountain is out after he weighs what jump the line fees say about locals like him.
This episode explores the economic forces behind toy fads and the commercialization of advent calendars.
This episode explores the financial dilemma of repairing an aging car versus buying new, and examines why official inflation numbers may not match personal experience.
This episode explores why professional sports leagues embraced gambling and the economic and social risks involved.
This episode discusses the high cost of housing in Canada, including a story about a separated couple still living together due to financial constraints.
This episode explores the economics behind everyday items like rotisserie chickens, reverse mortgages, and charity drop-off boxes.
This episode explores solutions to the housing crunch, including building more cities, and offers advice on finding happiness at work and trends in electric vehicle sales.
This episode examines whether building more homes can solve Canada's housing crisis given the role of investors, and also touches on dealing with horrible bosses.
This episode explores why apples have become so expensive and how money shapes everyday choices.
This episode explores the decision to switch jobs, including financial and personal considerations, and also covers retirement savings and the construction industry's recruitment efforts.
This episode explores how record labels profit from older music catalogs and the economic incentives behind promoting back catalog songs.
This episode explores the impact of lab-grown diamonds on the traditional diamond industry and discusses financial planning for pet care after the owner's death.
This episode explores the decline of thrifting's golden age and the rise of Asian skincare in the global beauty market.
This episode explores the hidden job market and how networking can uncover unadvertised job opportunities.