Usually get hand me downs from family, or buy super cheap used off fleabay.
First Phone in late 90s was a motorola just a phone and texts, had nokia bricks x3 through most of the 2000s and about 2012 got a new chinese UMI or now umidigi, it was Big but cheap a ok camera and was a step up from a flip samsung i had, it got glitches and eventualy on off switch and volume played up and it basicaly went mad and died.
Was Given a I phone 5C as ok but liked android for the apps and fact lots free, and went with a hand me down hawawie p something or other, was ok but sound was low and it had a high batterey consumption and got hot so had issues. Reverted back to i phone 5c , then bought a sony xa 1n 2016 was used and £35 off ebay in a box charger blah blah blah. had it 4 years was faultless, again overtime the sound semed low, so i reverted back to the iphone 5c and listed the xa on fleabay and took £46 for it in its box etc. Saw a Sony Z5 Premium on ebay with a cracked glss back but apparently working fine, bought it for £24 buy it now , and a new replacement back for £3 and a £2 pleather cover and i still got it now with the cracked back still two and a bit years latter no problems. Was flagship sony in its day and 4k screen etc back then in 2017 ish.
I will keep it a bit longer maybe 2 years more replace the cracked back and list it on flea bay and buy the Sony ZX or XZ whatever its called . just revert back to the pld 5c apple wile i sell the Z5 Premijum.
I know i am super cheap but it is ok by me and running shit used phones year on year is all good, been doing it with bikes cars trucks guns tracktors machinery prety much my whole life. sorry but i just dont know how to roll any other way.
Buy cheap run hard cput away wet and sell hard when your done with it. its just business as ussual, you know this game jim same as i do just do it its painless and cheap.
Phone plan. i have been with plusnet 20 years i pay £7 a month its technicaly EE network so ok coverage Unlimited phone texts and 10gb of data which in my cse never ever drops over the month regardless of what i do. may be its not working their end not sure, but i am sticking with it. Good luck.