The majority of my photography experience has been with one-time use cameras that I bought before a particular occasion (ie a vacation). I got my first camera, a Canon CoolPix 885, for Christmas '01. I really didn't get much use out of this point & shoot camera, especially because after about 8 months it started having excessive hot pixels. I was able to get a refund, which I put towards my next camera, a Canon PowerShot S40 in August '02.
While it had a lot more manual options I still used it as a point & shoot camera for the majority of the time that I had it. After I started learning about all the manual settings and options I quickly outgrew the camera and in the middle of October '03 I stepped up to the new Canon EOS Digital Rebel (AKA 300D). I have been spending a good amount of time with photography in the past couple of months since I finished school and have a lot of free time currently.