Dear Wander, I think your plan of giving your credit card to your mom is a great idea!!
Not childish -- just smart.
It's a great way to protect ourselves from something we'd do. Years ago, when I was a "consumer employee" at a mental health drop in center, we invited two reps from the electric company to visit us there. We did theater with them
-- I did most of the theatrics, because others did not feel comfortable with that role. But boy, I laid it on the reps!!!
Stuff like, [frustrated and angry role] "But I PAID MY BILL, I KNOW I DID -- YOU PEOPLE ARE LOSING MY RECORDS!!!"
Then the reps had to figure out how to handle such an out of control person.
(That role had actually been ME in previous years!!) They did a good job....said stuff like, "Could you look around a little bit and see if you can find the old bill?" So, in my theater role, I pawed around on the table like there was a jumbled pile of papers there, then humbly and with great embarrassment and shame, apologized to the rep and said, I had found the bill, it was not paid yet!
Another thing the electric company reps suggested to us was if we'd have a tendency to forget to pay a bill on time, or pay our rent, we could find a trusted person to remind us every month. So you see, Wander, many of us have stuff we do that doesn't make a good life, and there are ways to cope with our otherwise irresponsible or foolish behavior was alre3ady know we do!
And as for protecting my credit card, I can't put my credit card into "safe keeping" with someone like Wander's plan does, because my credit card is saved into places like Amazon.com and a zillion other places online. So I like the idea by Wild Coyote -- that could work....
Wild Coyote, the idea of putting a time limit on stuff is something that works for me. At least for awhile. I've been doing that for years. Eventually the plan breaks down, but I start it again....Thanks for the reminder!
I've already put a time limit on how much time I spend online in general, including this forum and another great forum I participate in....