I think that people use that as a joke response because the reality is so much sadder: even if we don't buy frivolous items (sidenote, millennials do buy less,

I think that people use that as a joke response because the reality is so much sadder: even if we don't buy frivolous items (sidenote, millennials do buy less, and it's killing restaurants, which of course, we get blamed for without a hint of irony) Then we still won't be able to afford houses. Think about how harsh that is, even if we live a life of austerity, income inequality is still so vast that we still won't be able to live a better life later. And the cherry on top is that despite living a life of relative austerity, a ridiculously rich person accuses us of frivolous spending.