I'm an American and it horrified me too.

That's the best advice I've read so far. I don't see why op needs to live like he's still making 60k after tripping his income.

>But with a tripled income, I would allow yourself one or two areas of controlled increased spending. Life is happening now - enjoy it. You can afford to, for example, take a nice vacation + have more frequent date nights while still maxing out Roth and 529 contributions, and saving beyond that.

And in Westfield Mall in downtown San Francisco

Yeah, and I'm not denying there are other communities that eat dogs and cats. And yes, a lot of it is due to poverty, but whether it's due to poverty or historical/religious significance, if a majority of the community finds it acceptable to practice something, it's part of their culture. People don't see a dog and associate them as an extension of their family, they see an animal that's got meat on it. Same way a lot of Indians see cows and they associate it as a sacred animal and not a food source.

That's very true and also the base of my argument whenever someone talks about how some Asian cultures eat dogs and how that's cruel. I eat beef, pork, etc., but I was raised in India. A lot of people there think of eating meat similar to how people think of others eat dogs over here. My community isn't restricted on vegetarian diet, so when I eat meat, some people looked at me weird or downright told me how disgusting it looks to them.