F.I.R.E User
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
For expenses, you can start with itemizing everything that you currently pay for and include 100% of the rent, not just what you are paying now. I think that there are calculators that will help you project how those will grow over time. You should not plan on paying your small portion of the rent long term. Don't forget to include utilities and insurance as well as money for maintenance if you choose to buy.
At some point you will have to pay the entire amount of your living expenses when your mother is no longer covering the majority of your rent. You might need to help pay for your mother's long term care to get her into a nice place or to pay for her funeral if she doesn't have life insurance or funds set aside for that. Those can drain your assets if you choose to fund them.
As for cash, that is dependent on how comfortable you are with waiting out a down market. For many people, that can mean 2-3 years of expenses. If your estimate of expenses is accurate, that would mean $100-150K in cash or cash equivalents.
The decision on when to take SS can be influenced by how much income your investments are generating when you retire and what your health looks like. If you find that you need more income, taking SS earlier than 70 might be the answer. If you end up with health issues, taking SS is probably better than waiting if you don't think you will survive past the break even age.
Unless your situation changes, you don't have a spouse or dependent kids to worry about so that makes it simpler. I wouldn't take SS before your FRA but I also don't know if I would delay until 70. That's a decision DH and I are still discussing but our situation is a bit different than yours. We use opensocialsecurity.com to help with this decision.
I pay $410 of the total rent. Why include 100%? I am not sure if I will ever buy a home. I don’t like the upkeep maintenance as I like small, simple cozy dwellings.
I do pay for all utilities now.
Electric average $100 a month.
Renters insurance $4.51 a month.
Water, Trash, Sewer $35 a month.
My mother doesn’t cover the rent at all. Her funeral is fully covered with private religious program. She pays for $55 a year for that. She has Medicare and Medicaid (long term care) so I am not sure how much would that be but it wouldn’t be all me covering it. I have 2 older Bros to help out. What is FRA?
So if my health is pretty good and I am expecting to survive say pass 90 then take SS at 70? Some say take it at 62 and invest that money to beat the ROI from the 70 payouts. My salary will increase as years go by so SS will be more.
I am hoping we get some kind of Health reform so early retirees can get Medicare before 65 because ACA is not cheap.
In retirement I assume my rent would be about $1k a month.