My Dad,a child of the Depression,was fantastically successful in his life when you consider that he was the youngest of 8 who grew up in the filthy slums of South Boston thanks to his father having been badly disabled by tuberculosis.
Although he could have afforded much,*much* better after he achieved his success he always drove Oldsmobiles and wore Timex watches.In fact,the one memento of his that I wanted after his death was his Timex watch and my siblings said that was OK with them.
Of all the valuable lessons he taught me,living below your means was just about the best.
Sounds like you had a very wise father.