Sounds like you had a very wise father.
I did indeed.I don't know how old you are but I'm old enough to have had parents who lived through the Great Depression.If you do some research you'll find that many such people rose above their humble beginnings to enjoy financial comfort...as did my Dad.You'll also find that that generation,tempered by hard times,tended to live more simply than might be expected.I'm inclined to think that my Dad's entire generation...or a good portion of it...were "wise" in the same way my Dad was.