Jamaica rebuilt economic stability by choosing rules over rhetoric and keeping them in public view. A binding fiscal rule drove primary surpluses and steady debt reduction while citizen oversight and on-time budgets created a culture of follow through. Central bank independence and clear inflation targeting anchored prices and calmed the foreign exchange market, so families and firms could plan. Buffers did the quiet heavy lifting: healthy reserves, disaster insurance, a real contingency fund, and targeted supports that switch on fast. Digital rails tied identity, wallets, and real-time payments to bring small vendors and households into safer, cheaper finance. The plan was tested by the tourism collapse in two thousand twenty and the global price spikes that followed, yet the calendar, the mandate, and the buffers held. The closing playbook for small states is simple and hard: write the rule, keep the dates, build buffers, modernize payments, measure services, speak plainly, and include people at the stall and the bus stop.