[mindslight]

You missed the sentence right before the one about charging their mother rent:

> I avoid giving money directly unless as cash because they prefer it that way

Lots of people want to pay their own way, but old people often have a warped sense of how much things should cost (see the "I worked a part time job to pay for college" thing). So letting their mother think she's mostly paying for her own apartment is itself a kindness.