Friend taking gold back - enjoy being wasteful (8)
I believe the answer is:
prodigal
'wasteful' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'friend taking gold back enjoy' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'pal' (pal can mean a friend).
'taking' indicates putting letters inside.
'gold' becomes 'or' ('or' is the heraldic name for gold).
'back' is a reversal indicator.
'enjoy' becomes 'dig' (to dig can mean to appreciate or 'get').
'or' in reverse letter order is 'ro'.
'ro'+'dig'='rodig'
'pal' enclosing 'rodig' is 'PRODIGAL'.
'being' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for prodigal that I've seen before include "Wasteful - gold pair (anag)" , "Extravagant like Biblical son" , "Recklessly wasteful or extravagant" , "This son got the fatted calf" , "Spendthrift" .)