I know he might not think of himself as such (many people like him don't), but he's an example to everyone, no matter their level of education, on how to provide for his family and himself.One of the guys in my praise band is a 37 year old electrician with a high school education and he’s debt free. He has a wife, a daughter, a nice home With a shop on two acres, a nice truck, a Camry for his wife, and a vasectomy. All he has to pay for is retirement.
Works hard, earns every dollar, doesn't squander it, pays cash for everything, and will probably retire wealthier than he could ever have imagined back in high school.
Interesting thing about human nature. These guys are doing it right, but don't talk much about what they do, how they do it, or the results (at a young age!) that their efforts and methods produce. It's the ones who live way beyond their means, pile up McMansions and toys, all financed with the longest term debt they can find, who brag at parties and on social media about how great their lives are.
Meanwhile, your buddy, if he goes to parties or has Facebook at all, just keeps his mouth shut, his head down, and actually builds the life the braggarts want others to think they have.
Kudos to him. I wish he'd teach a class.