Используя dict, чтобы захватить заголовки, затем перебирайте все, что вам нужно.
import csv
ct = 0
cols_i_want = {'cost' : -1, 'date' : -1}
with open("file1.csv","rb") as source:
rdr = csv.reader( source )
with open("result","wb") as result:
wtr = csv.writer( result )
for row in rdr:
if ct == 0:
cc = 0
for col in row:
for ciw in cols_i_want:
if col == ciw:
cols_i_want[ciw] = cc
cc += 1
wtr.writerow( (row[cols_i_want['cost']], row[cols_i_want['date']]) )
ct += 1