> I think part of that was growing up in a situation where losing something important like a phone or laptop was a financial hardship that meant real, lasting pain.

The brain is interesting, that's for sure. Old habits and mindsets stick around a long time.

I still write important things on paper like final destination addresses or reservation numbers because I don't trust my phone.

When I went on a solo 2 week Euro trip to Portugal and Spain last year I had ~30 printed pieces of paper of reservation details / maps in my backpack just in case something happened with my phone. I didn't carry them all with me everywhere but as time went on in the trip, I brought the specific ones with me for that day in a day bag.

I didn't plan the trip in too much detail, mainly just hotel reservations and high level bullets for things to do in the few cities I went to but having everything printed gave me peace of mind. I didn't have to use a single piece of paper in the end.

It does make me think how much easier it would be traveling with a friend or partner because having 2 phones is a massive perk for redundancy.