but I think at least part of what he/she said here is true.
 I have an American boyfriend, who went home and had dinner with his mom, they will pay their own bill. And when we go to the grocery store, we will pay each other's stuff. And sometimes when I want to buy something expensive, he never said he would buy it for me as a gift. He will say: it is your money, you work hard and deserve to buy something good for yourself. Even I want to buy some small stuff, like gum or something, he will never offer to buy it for me unless I ask him to.
But when here comes the anniversry or like Valentine's day, he will not that cheap, but still not that generous either.
So I think there has some culture difference.