I never thought I'd relive the feeling I had as a kid going to see Mr. Jensen at Jensen Hardware in my tiny hometown in the mid-70s.

But, a couple of months ago, I found myself flashing back 35 years to when I would pull the white, plastic stopper out of my piggy bank (actually in the shape of a sitting cocker spaniel), spill the money onto the kitchen table and eagerly start counting.

If I had enough for the prized baseball bat or game at the hardware store, I'd shovel it all into my pants pockets and ride my bike like the wind uptown. Mr. Jensen was always ready to accept my $6.91 all in coins. In fact he seemed to get a kick out of helping me count it out.

Fast forward to 2009 and I'm walking into Sears in Des Moines, Iowa, cash in hand (figuratively, at least). And even though I was buying a stove and microwave - hardly as thrilling today as a baseball bat was 35 years ago - I was still pretty excited.

Because buying something without going into debt is just more exciting and pleasurable than loading it onto an already burdened credit card and figuring it out later.

The key was being smart enough to know my stove would not last forever. So I started a $67-a-month stove and microwave replacement fund. After a year of saving, I had $917 in the account. Unlike a physical piggy bank, SmartyPig pays interest. So my goal of $850 ended up above $900. That all combined to make a Sears store in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2009 feel a lot like Jensen's Hardware in Lake Park, Iowa, circa 1974.

With one goal reached, I was eager to continue the $67-a-month withdrawal I'd become used to. So the refrigerator fund immediately took the place of the stove/microwave fund. I've since added the 25th-wedding-anniversary-trip fund.

As exciting as purchasing a major appliance with cash was, I bet going on a trip that's already paid for will be twice as great. I can see the 1974 version of Mr. Jensen smiling right now.

Bill Zahren, @pressdog