What's this we hear about a recession?

Yeah, maybe, but that doesn't mean we're ready to give up the fun stuff. And if you are (giving up the fun stuff), you need to reconsider because we're telling you that for 20 bucks, there's plenty of fun to be had.

So our live-it-up-on-the-cheap plan doesn't include an 11-course degustation menu at Mavro or a weekend getaway to Turtle Bay, but we will tell you where to show off your karaoke skills for a buck, where to buy a pancake-egg-and-bacon breakfast for under $4 and how $5 will buy your kids so much fun they'll probably thank you by falling asleep (moms everywhere are breathing easier already).

We've compiled a dozen different good-time scenarios in eight categories. All you have to do is find your type — are you a morning person? A bookworm? A parent? A music lover?- grab a 20 and let the good times roll.

(Note to coupon haters: Our list is coupon-free. All you have to worry about is the transportation, and the $20 will cover the rest of the entertainment costs.)

1. YOUR MOTTO IS: EARLY TO BED, EARLY TO RISE

You're up with the sun and back home before the crazy night owls come out, because you truly believe there's nothing good out there after midnight.

Breakfast (served until 10 a.m.) at Asahi Grill (593-2800) with two pancakes, two eggs and bacon: $3.95

Dollar matinee movie at the Restaurant Row theaters: 50 cents

A slice of pizza (we suggest the Mexican with spicy lime chicken, salsa, sour cream and fresh slices of avocado) from Z Pizza (Ward Centre, 596-0066): $3

Dave & Buster's game card good for as much game play as you can fit into an hour (4:30-7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 589-2215): $10

Total: $17.45

2. YOUR MOTTO IS: AFTER MIDNIGHT, I’M GONNA LET IT ALL HANG DOWN

It's nighttime or nothing for you. If it doesn't happen in a bar, a club, on a dance floor or in a restaurant with a late-night menu, then it's not worth your time.

Dollar tacos and free beer on Tiki Taco Tuesdays at Tiki's Grill & Bar (weekly 5-7 p.m., 923-8454): $4 (two tacos at $2 each)

Dollar karaoke at Red Lion Waikiki (926-5466): $4 (four songs at $1 per song)

"Acid Wash" (9 p.m.-2 a.m. Wednesdays, 395-2100) at The Living Room at Fisherman's Wharf (524-0150): No cover

Don't forget the cheap beer: $6 (two beers at $3 each)

Late-night "Jamboree Breakfast" at Wailana Coffee House (955-1764) with two eggs, two slices of bacon, all-you-can-eat pancakes and bottomless coffee: $5.45

Total: $19.45

3. AFTER MIDNIGHT: DOWNTOWN

Martini Madness (4.-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 521-2900) at Indigo with free buffet and bargain martinis: $8 (two martinis at $4 each)

Five rounds of pool at Amy's Place (550-8168): $5

A slice of pizza (pepperoni or cheese) and a pint at J.J. Dolan's (537-4992): $7

Total: $20

4. YOUR MOTTO IS: IF THE KIDS ARE HAPPY, I’M HAPPY

Your kids are your life, and your life is good when the keiki have plenty to keep them busy.

Toddler Time (10:30 a.m.-noon Wednesdays, 485-5327) at Leapin' Lizards play facility: $10 ($5 per child, $5 per adult)

Aiea Manapua & Snacks' (488-7443) signature pizza manapua: $4.76 (four manapuas at $1.19 each)

Dollar DVD rental from the vending machine at various Safeway stores (but chances are the little darlings will be asleep before Wall-E can start cleaning up the planet): $1

Total: $15.76

5. HAPPY KIDS II

Art in the Park (11 a.m.-12 p.m. Wednesdays, 524-5437) drop-in art program at the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center: $3 (per child)

Kids' meal at California Pizza Kitchen with mac and cheese, bread and a drink (our in-house kid experts recommend getting the meal to go, then sharing it — it's enough for parent and kid): $5.95

Add edamame: 49 cents

Shave ice with vanilla ice-cream at Waiola Shave Ice (735-8886): $3

"Read Me a Story" story hour (2:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 532-8700) at the Honolulu Academy of Arts: $7 (for Mom or Dad, kids get in free)

Total: $19.44

6.YOUR MOTTO IS: IMAGE IS EVERYTHING

Shallow? Nah, you're not shallow. You just have standards that don't include things like dinner at Taco Bell, wearing Crocs or using public transportation.

Six-dollar pupu (our favorites are the crab cakes, filet mignon sandwiches and blue-cheese french fries) at Morton's Steakhouse (5-6:30 p.m. and 9-11 p.m. Monday-Friday, 949-1300): $6

Martinis around the firepits at RumFire (Sheraton Waikiki, 922-4422): $6

Genuine 1958 counterfeit Cuban cigar from South Pacific Pipes and Cigars (591-8275): $4.70

Total: $16.70

7. IMAGE, II

Afternoon tea service (2-5:30 p.m. daily, 739-8895) at The Veranda at the Kahala Hotel & Resort: $8

Dancing and cocktails with a sophisticated crowd (only 23 and older are allowed in) at Hush Boutique Nightclub Lounge (Hawaiian Monarch Hotel, 955-7200): $6 (per drink)

Sushi at Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar's late-night happy hour (Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, 10 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 931-6286): $6 (two sushi rolls at $3 each)

Total: $20

8. YOUR MOTTO IS: A NOSE BELONGS IN A BOOK

For you, there's nothing better than a good book and a free weekend. Bookstores are your haven, Amazon is your homepage, and the one thing you know for sure is that the book is always, ALWAYS better than the movie.

Cheap reads from Jelly's Honolulu (670 Auahi St., 587-7001) Graveyard Books bargain bin: $1 (per book)

Venti frou-frou coffee at Starbucks (think quadruple breve caramel macchiato with extra vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon ... or something like that): $5.08

A refill of Starbucks drip (refills are given within one hour of purchasing your full-priced cup of coffee) to keep you sipping for an extra long time while you settle in and read your bargain book for as long as you want. Really. They won't kick you out.: 52 cents

A burrito that's well-contained, tightly wrapped and fits perfectly in one hand (so the other is free for page turning, of course) from La Taqueria de Ramiro (532-8226): $3.50

Blank discs to burn free downloadable e-books and audiobooks from the Hawai'i State Library system (www.librarieshawaii.org): $9.88

Total: $19.98

9. YOUR MOTTO IS: DON’T FENCE ME IN

The indoors are your prison. If you don't have a sunburn, surfers' drip, altitude sickness or shin splints, you're doing something very wrong.

A stroll through this city's best urban garden, Foster Botanical Garden (522-7060): $3

Get bundled up for a few hours in the cold, and ice skate at Ice Palace (487-9921) like you're Dorothy Hamill on a frozen lake: $8.75, skates included

(Note to slippers and fallers: Skating aids — think walkers for the ice — are supplied for your safety.)

"The Sky Tonight" nighttime planetarium show (8 p.m. every first and third Friday, 848-4168) at the Bishop Museum: $4

Total: $15.75

10. YOUR MOTTO IS: MUSIC, SWEET MUSIC

If you could, you'd be buried with your iPod. (And who says you can't be?) Music is the only thing that really moves you, and if the music is live, all the better. (Note: For this category, we're suggesting you stay in one place — to hear the music, of course.)

Live music (expect to see bands like Tempo Valley, Creed Chameleon, The Spacifics, Most High and Dubkonscious) seven nights a week at Tropics Cafe: No cover

Tropics' happy hour (4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 591-8009) well drinks: $9 (three drinks at $3 each)

Tropics' signature half-pound cheeseburger with fries to help soak up the drink: $8.50

Two rounds of pool while you wait for the band to take the stage: $2

Total: $19.50

11. SWEET MUSIC, II

Live Hawaiian music Sundays through Thursdays, courtesy of local faves like Ka Momi at Aku Bone Lounge and Grill (589-2020): No cover

The best half-rack of lamb in the city, also at Aku Bone: $12

An order of pulehu aku belly with a side of chili pepper water and poi, also at Aku Bone (Aku Bone is clearly as much about the pupu as it is about the live music): $7

Total: $19

12. YOUR MOTTO IS: LOVE MAKES MY WORLD GO ’ROUND

You're not going anywhere if you have to go alone, because everything's better when you're together. Awww.

Matinee movie at the made-for-lovers Ko'olau Stadium 10 theaters (the stadium seating includes loveseats!): $5.75

Dirty martinis or naughty angels at Haleiwa Joe's at Ha'iku Gardens, the only bar on the island that's as well-known for hosting weddings as it is for pouring drinks (4:30-6:30 p.m. daily, 247-6671): $5

Tapas at Kailua's too-charming-for-words Kalapawai Cafe and Deli (262-DELI): Total: $6-$8 per plate

Total: $16.75-$18.75

13. ALL IN THE NAME OF LOVE

The Contemporary Museum's (526-0232) picnic lunch for two, made for taking and eating on the lush museum grounds: $30 ($15 per person)

Drinks (G&T, rum and Coke, etc.) and a sunset at La Mariana Restaurant & Bar (848-2800): $2.75 per drink

A song courtesy of the in-house piano man (yep, he knows "Fly Me to the Moon" — how romantic!): Free, but we suggest leaving $2 in his jar

Total: $19.75