My girlfriend is not a "gold-digger" but wants to experience the "high life" together.

**EDIT: Let me clear some things up:** <br><br>**1. She does not use my credit card without my knowledge or permission**<br><br>**2. She works a full-time job and pays for about 50% of her own expenses.**<br><br>**3. We've spoken about funding a joint swear jar, fun-bucket, etc. and she's onboard. However she wants to kinda "feel out" what things cost first before we commit to a specific amount.**<br><br>**4. We have "allowance" system. I pay for 100% of some things; she pays for 100% of other things; and we sometimes split shared expenses 50-50 and sometimes split shared expenses proportionally.**<br><br>**5. I'm not ignorant of how much things cost. I have lived in big cities for most of my life. However the nature of my job and my habits are such that I don't really engage with the service economy much (e.g., I don't go to bars, haven't taken a taxi since 2010, I only go to restaurants that take reservations, etc.) So while I'm not ignorant of the prices of things, I am sometimes shocked by the quality you get for that price.**<br><br>Alright, so I (M43) have been dating this new girl (F27) for 3 months now. On our second date, she said that she's not a gold-digger, and wasn't looking for a sugar-daddy, but she does want to experience the "high-life" in her 20s. <br><br>I'm doing pretty well for myself, and I don't really have any problem with indulging her (or ourselves, I guess.) But lately, I kind of feel like I've started keeping 2 price-books. One for me and one for her. <br><br>For example, me: "Oh, I wanna take us out to dinner."<br><br>Her: "Where?"<br><br>Me: "This great new Italian place down the street."<br><br>Her: "No. I haven't seen that one on any lists. Take me to that other one instead" (That other one being a very famous, very highly-rated, very expensive restaurant in a totally different part of town.)<br><br>Me (mentally): "A $40 entree + $20 appetizer + $15 dessert @ the good italian place down the street is going to be $75 for the both of us."<br><br>Me (out-loud): "Okay."<br><br>Me (mentally): "A $70 entee + $40 appetizer + $30 dessert @ that other place is going to be $280 for the both of us."<br><br>Now, you guys know what the difference is, right? The famous restaurant has a "brand tax" on it. <br><br>Extra utility (or value, if you will) you get from the Famous Restaurant:<br><br>* The prestige of getting a reservation.<br>* The satisfaction of eating at a "famous" restaurant.<br>* The view & vibe of the nice restaurant (it's in a skyscraper).<br>* The prestige of being able to talk about eating there.<br><br>I have absolutely nothing against "brand tax." If anything, I probably pay it too often and too much. I'm not a "I shop at hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurants because they're authentic" kind of guy, nor am I an "I shop at hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurants because it's cheaper" kind of guy. I'm an "I shop at hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurants because the food is just *better*" kind of guy. <br><br>But I do think it's interesting to kinda "break down" the difference in these values. Obviously some "brand tax" is justified. There's a reason that you *can't* get a reservation at the famous restaurant unless you book a month in advance or pay triple for the seat. There's a reason why they have a nice view and nice decor. And there's a reason why the food is on the higher end (though not the highest end, in my opinion). But you can't put a price on "the satisfaction of eating at a 'famous' restaurant". <br><br>Obviously I don't expect her to be totally oblivious to the costs of these things. I know she isn't ignorant of the fact that nice restaurants are more expensive. But I'm starting to feel like she's not totally aware of the price *multiplier* of going to these places. I'm not totally sure how to communicate this to her without sounding totally gross and "unromantic". <br><br> tl;dr: My gf who is not a gold-digger wants to live "the high life" in her 20s. I'm happy to indulge her and myself in the occasional luxury, but I feel like she doesn't totally "get" the price premium sometimes. How do I communicate this to her without coming off as a dick?