If you're referring to the article I linked ("the Cheapest Generation", so you might be), you had almost the same thought I did.
The author notes that millenials are spending just as much as before, but on different things. While smartphones were mentioned as the new status symbol instead of cars, they also noted that millenials are spending more on education, because it matters more to them. The entire point of YMOYL is that it's stupid to spend money on things that you don't value, and important to spend money on the things you do value, so that's great news! That's exactly what the YMOYL authors want! It's an attempt to receive value from things in proportion to the life force you put into them.