When I was 13 or 14, I saved up money from working at my dad's little seasonal general store to buy a Polaroid 420.
It was a big, fold-out camera that featured a "focused flash" unit that took the common-at-the-time Flash Cubes and had a linkage connected to the focusing rack that adjusted louvers on the flash head to adjust the flash output for distance. From then on, a lot of my pay and allowance went towards the pricey Polaroid instant film.
My older sister later got the stainless-steel-and-leather Polaroid SX-70 for Christmas and I was very jealous. A few years later, I bought a more automated Kodak brand instant camera. I used it quite a bit until a lawsuit from Polaroid forced the instant Kodak, and the film for them, off the market. If I remember correctly, Kodak sent me a check to reimburse me for the camera as part of the settlement.
At that point, I moved up to my first SLR... a Yashica FRII. I had the classic 1970's kit: 28, 50 and 135mm lenses and a big Sunpak 411 flash.