It used to be that food took the biggest bite out of a household budget. But in March 1968, CBC reporter Glen Julian said that was changing — and not for the better.

"It's no secret that the average family is finding it tougher to pay for things these days," said Julian off the top of a CBC News report, as he pushed a cart along a narrow, cluttered grocery aisle.

Now the most expensive thing was housing. Apartment rents were up $15 to $60 per month.

Julian said it was part of a trend that was seeing the cost of living going up "steadily, and more quickly than ever before."

Energy edging up

The cost of gas contributed to a 37 per cent rise in transportation costs. (CBC News/CBC Archives)

"Local transportation in many parts of Canada has gone up 37 per cent in the last five years," said Julian, as the report showed images of buses and cars.

Energy, in the form of hydro, gasoline and furnace fuel, was also escalating in price.

Restaurant meals were also on the table, up by more than 32 per cent in the last five years.

"Some workers bring their own lunches," said Julian. "And they talk about the high cost of living."

A woman in cat-eye glasses and a white smock was one such worker, and she had a quick answer for what was costing her more lately.

A trio seated at a diner talked about what they were finding expensive lately: cigarettes, apartments, and draft beer. (CBC News/CBC Archives)

"Cigarettes, rising in price," she said. "Fifty-seven cents for a small package."

Her colleague noted she couldn't "take an apartment" because the cost was "too high."

"It's the price of booze that gets me," said a third worker, and he laughed. "Used to be 15 cents for a draft."

Draft — a small glass of beer on tap — had gone up to 20 cents, he clarified.

Wages were also up

Records were among the goods that cost more money. (CBC News/CBC Archives)

But, as Julian pointed out, banks were offering more interest on savings — five per cent, according to a sign in a bank window.

And even though the costs of children's clothing and shoes were up, so were wages — "at least seven per cent on average," said Julian.

Then there were entertainment expenses: recreation and reading, including newspapers and magazines.

"But the average citizen is buying more of them, and he is buying more phonograph records," said Julian, as the camera went inside a record store.

"My heart really goes out to people who have children to feed these days," said an woman interviewed in the aisle of a grocery store. (CBC News/CBC Archives)

"The going gets tougher as you try to get married," said the reporter.

A young groom-to-be professed shock at the cost of a marriage license: $10, when he'd been expecting a fee of $3. (That $10 in 1968 is equivalent to $74 today, according to the Bank of Canada.)

"The cost of living is the highest I've ever known it to be," said a woman at the grocery store. "It must be a great strain on people with families."

Lifestyle choices

"When you finally get to the checking-out counter, you suddenly find it takes more money than you came to spend," noted reporter Glen Julian. (CBC News/CBC Archives)

If it cost a lot to live, that was a choice many people were consciously making, suggested Julian.

"Many like to live with a high standard, no matter what the cost," he said.

The Consumer Price Index, a monthly statistical survey of a list of goods and services used by Canadians, was going to be adjusted to reflect up-to-date lifestyles by adding pet foods and accommodations.

"A couple of years ago, we bought a bag of potatoes for under a dollar and made it last as long as it could," said Julian. "Today, with our frozen and instant food mentality, we can get potatoes in a dozen ways."