For the next few years you will be using Eastern Caribbean currency, or ECs. The conversion rate is easy and if you manage to keep the following table straight in your head, you will be able to gauge what is and is not a fair price. Everything is in US dollars because I am too lazy to provide conversion tables for all nations and, since I just finished talking about phones, I am worried you are asleep. For easy conversion into any other currency, there are many useful websites. Remember to cross-multiply and check your work.
$1 = 2.67 EC
$8 = 20 EC (roughly)
$40 = 100 EC (roughly)
There are banks on the island and no need to ever use them. You can pull EC from your US account at any ATM on the island (including the one on campus) with a VISA/MasterCard debit card (sorry American Express and Discover). Some credit card companies charge a higher rate for foreign conversions, so check yours. The ATM charge is $1.50 and the conversion rate is standard. If you have a refund check coming to you, I suggest having the school send it home and having family/friends deposit it. Do not forget to leave deposit slips back home. That being said, some people find it more convenient to open an account at a bank in Grenada. This allows you to eventually pay for things by check, and not have to worry about finding an ATM. However, you have to hold an account for six months before they give you a checkbook. There are several banks close to campus, including an RBTT bank in the Student’s Center.
How much EC will you spend a day? Depends. EC is pretty, looks like Monopoly money and you will spend it as such. Breakfast of eggs and toast is 13 EC, lunch is around 17 EC, and dinner can be up to 25 EC. That comes to 55 EC/$21 a day eating out every meal. It sounds expensive but few people can pull off three meals a day. Most have one full meal and fill the rest with coffee and snacks. You will find your own happy middle. Remember that if you cook and buy your own groceries, you will save quite a bit. You can find most snack foods, coffee, and even eggs in the store on campus for that late night impulse buy but you pay for the convenience in higher prices.
If you drink anything other than water, you are in for a shock. Name brands like Coke, Starbucks and Arizona drinks cost three to four times what they do in the states. That being said, some people still manage to spend a great deal of money on water. Bottled water is sold everywhere on the island and is more expensive than beer. Some students buy a bottle every day. Others (and I recommend doing this) buy one bottle and refill it at dinking fountains on campus. All of the water on campus is filtered; this is not the case elsewhere on the island. I for one have had the same bottle for a month now and may have saved as much as one hundred dollars. Cigarettes are no more expensive than you are used to, but you should quit anyway.
