My parents were both fairly frugal, although now in their 60s, they are kicking it up a notch in their retired state and enjoying everything they sacrificed for earlier in their lives.
My paternal grandparents were pretty darn frugal themselves, and I seem to have inheirited the frugal gene. It's almost like I enjoy seeing what I can go without and sacrifice just as much as some people seem to enjoy pampering themselves with countless luxuries today (manicures, massages, etc.). Sure, I do splurge every now and then, but both my splurges and my frequency of them still leave me at the bottom 99% percentile of meager living (while I'm not trying to make light of them, it'd be interesting to see how those living in 'poverty' and those receiving assistance choose to spend their meager financial resources, and compare it to how someone like me makes the choice to simply do without).
I wouldn't say it had anything to do with environment growing up - I started working at 10 cutting the grass at my dad's office, and then started caddying at 12. Continued cutting grass until I was 14, and kept on caddying until I was 19. All of the money was saved up, and later invested (which could lead to a post on the current thread of greatest financial mistakes of all-time...but I'll spare myself the painful memory of those times
). I would have chosen to save it all whether my parents were spendthrifts or frugalites.
My two sisters and one brother must have been taken by the stork too soon when God was handing out the frugal gene, as they don't seem to have inheirited any of it. My one sister has, however, seem to have come around in the past 4 years (after getting married), and both her and her husband are somewhat frugal.
I'm hoping to give one last run to break the "12k annual budget cheap SOB" record held by what's-his-name before I find a significant other (man, dating sure can play hell with a 12k annual budget ...especially when they're long-distance relationships
).
Despite my parents handle on money, it was never discussed or brought up. We kind of knew that our parents had a decent income and saved a majority of it, but they never flaunted anything...whether any talks with my siblings would have changed their current view towards money is doubtful. Given some current problems with my other not-so-frugal sister, I'm beginning to think that self awareness of financial responsibility must come from the school of hard knocks for most people - all the lectures and graphs in the world won't work for the die-hard spend thrifts (it could for those who were never introduced to saving and investing, but for those who are addicted to spending, bankruptcy may be the only eye opener).