Definitely inherited the 'cheap" gene, and learned it's usefulness when my first marriage ended and I had two kids to support. My two children from the first marriage did not inherit it. I tried to teach them but they just don't get it. My DH is tighter with a dollar than I am, and our daughter seems to have inherited the "cheap" gene but has a different idea what she thinks is worth paying for than either of us do.
One of my mottos is that a dollar in my pocket is worth far more to me than that same dollar in a cash register. Even so, I am not excessive about it. And the grands are here for me to spoil, so I do. Even so, I make sure they see me put change in a 'money jar' for our summer fun, so they know that it isn't because we are rolling in money.
Now that I am in my "wonder years" (you know, wondering how I will get out of bed, get to the bathroom on time, finish anything, how I ever got anything done when I worked, etc.) I am loosening the purse strings. After all, caskets don't come with ATMs...