Yep, another made-up-just-for-fun holiday. This one came about in 1994 and was invented by a publicist who suggested that people treat themselves and also those around them.

Your definition of “splurge” may vary. Here’s what I think: Whether they’re experiences or lasting treats, a splurge can not only brighten your day but help keep you on the frugal path.

Utter, slavish denial of self can lead to falling off the wagon in a big, big way, which will undermine – or undo – the progress you’ve made toward meeting your financial goals.

But there’s no reason to overpay for a splurge, be it a trip abroad or a really good cupcake. That’s why I’m suggesting eight ways to do it up without overdoing it.

Late last week I suggested we drive to the Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ for supper. It wasn’t that there wasn’t anything to eat at home. It’s that the weather was too nice to stay inside.

Sure, we could have had leftovers at a table in the back yard. In fact, DF suggested we do that rather than spending $30 or more on ribs. But I wanted to take advantage of the splendid drive along Turnagain Arm, and then sit on the patio eating fried pickles and basking in the nonstop Alaska sun.

Summer can do a number on a frugalist’s finances – especially if your friends don’t play fair. Whether it’s beer and chicken wings after a pickup softball game or al fresco lunches with pals on a sunny Saturday, the next few months could lead to all sorts of uncomfortable money situations.

Recently I declared that I hate shopping. Today’s kind of shopping was both fun and profitable.

This morning I noticed that the Shop and Earn feature on the Swagbucks rewards points site is offering double the points through Memorial Day weekend.

Although not much of an online shopper I took a quick look anyway – and found yet another Swagbucks hack, which morphed into several other money-savers.

I smelled burning bread when I woke up, a clear sign that DF was fixing himself some breakfast. When I got to the kitchen I found he’d split and toasted two homemade rolls in the same frying pan used to cook a salmon burger and some onions.

By “toasted,” I mean that one half-roll was as black as the inside of a brunette cow. The other three halves were brown with cinderized rims. DF’s motto for his own food prep is simple: If it’s smoking, it’s cooking; if it’s charred, it’s done. Then again, he used to eat burnt match-heads when he was a little boy.

Burned bread, sizzled onions and a salmon patty: The breakfast of champions. It could just as easily have been leftover fish chowder, or leftover chili with rice. Or oatmeal with flax seed but no milk. Or nothing but coffee, if he’s fasting for religious reasons. His idea of breakfast is much more flexible than mine.

I almost always have oatmeal, although yesterday it was toast and fruit and homemade yogurt because we were out of milk. (I like a looser oat than DF does.) Neither way is necessarily better: Breakfast is, or should be, whatever works for you. If more people felt that way, they could save a lot of money.

As I hinted in “Thanks a million,” changes are afoot in the way I do business at MSN Money. Specifically: Frugal Nation is no more. Instead, I’ll be writing three times a week (not five!) at MSN Money Smart Spending.

Relieved? Yes. But sad, too.

After all, Frugal Nation was my baby alone: For more than a year I posted five times a week, offering “save money today” advice and also bigger-picture articles about money and how we use it, abuse it and sometimes deify it.