Consumer Advice

Saying that, it seems you just need a phone and not necessarily a smart phone. You should be able to find a decent one for under $100 but it wont have much other than a phone and messaging,

I paid $180 for a new LG for my wife and it is more than she needs. Since you wont need 4g or 5g, maybe you can get a used 2g phone and it should be under $50. I would ask someone who knows more than I do whether it will be able to communicate with whatever service you decide to go with.