The age-old question of whether or not money can buy happiness may be played out, but the idea of spending the money while we can is not. It's not to say that saving for retirement, emergencies, and goals is passé, however, there is something to be said for over-saving to the point of not enjoying life to the fullest.

A Slate article called "Spend It While You Can" [1] explores recent research by a few economists seeking what makes us happy, and their findings suggest "that you'll get a bigger bang for your consumer buck by spending while you're healthy, before old age starts to take the fun out of life's indulgences." Having money during retirement is swell, but only if you are healthy enough to spend it on the things you've always wanted.

The economists' point seems to match my Eat, Drink, and be Savvy mantra — being mindful of your money doesn't mean sacrificing everything that you desire. Enjoy life, just be smart about where you splurge so you're not spending your money on things that aren't really worth it to you.

Source [2]