My parents had a completely different mindset. Dad had only four years of primary education in a rural one-room schoolhouse. Mom had a high school education, but in an overcrowded, rundown school system. Yet they were both anxious to improve their lot, both for themselves and their kids. As soon as they were able, they started to dip their toes into the stock market. They got burned in the beginning by believing the "tips" they got, but quickly learned to do their own research and invest in safer vehicles. By the time my Mom died, she had enough left after several years of very expensive assisted living and memory care facilities to leave me over 200K.
My parents were very similar to yours. My in-laws were the opposite. They mastered (or MIL did, anyway) the LBYM mindset and saved diligently. But they never trusted the stock market. I don't think it's that uncommon in folks who grew up in the depression. Fortunately, interest rates paid by banks were decent. My MIL recently entered memory care. FIL spent about 8 months in a nursing home before passing. Yet there is still plenty of money to pay MIL's bills for many years to come.
There's more than one way to skin a cat. Your parents were probably the outliers for their generation and income group.