I found that having Jamaican cash really helped. We stayed at Catcha and there is a mini mart a very short walk away. After breakfast I would walk there to get my day's supplies, rum, Coke, Red Stripe, etc. When I paid in American dollars I felt confused, she had to get out the calculator, conversion rates, etc. Then on our way to the beach I stopped at an ATM and got Jamaican currency. I thought that helped immensely. When I could use my credit card, I did, when I could not or did not need to I used JA. Note that I have a special "travel" credit card which has a very low credit limit (on purpose) so that if it is compromised at least I can minimize the damage. When I get home I pay it off and start saving again for my next trip! Just my two cents.