Republic wireless. Got my Moto Android phone for about $120.

There are plenty of new phones available for a reasonable price.

https://www.qvc.com/qvc.product.E232591.html?colorId=012&sizeId=000&ref=GBA&cm_mmc=GOOGLESHOPPINGFEED-_-GShopping|L|All+Products-_-pla-_-sDQDUOlaP|dc_24633700947_aud-324522983728:pla-310499820956__E232591-012-000&cm_mmca1=c&cm_mmca2=24633700947&cm_mmca3=aud-324522983728:pla-310499820956&cm_mmca4=E232591-012-000&gclid=CjwKCAjwnMTqBRAzEiwAEF3ndgYzVQVJzMCcqFCs1RdgWsr9qBHiCXD-9ugIMz5QrYVD6dIIuI7OPBoCZToQAvD_BwE

This is what my kids got. They and I still have tracfone -- but I have a Galaxy S10.

Old androids are crap. Cheap androids are crap. Google security patches are up to vendor to push out, and they neglect old phones and shoddy manufacturers just don’t update. so if you go this route be darn sure DD doesn’t leave phone in her room while changing and is fine with every pic ever being hacked.

I think apple still supports iPhone 6 with latest iOS it’s a total different approach. One example, Chromebooks expire after 5 years. That’s it. They just say no more support for you.

Anonymous wrote:If you don't have an old phone to pass down to your kids, are you spending $$$ to get them one? I started looking today and it's so much more than I expected. Even an old used iPhone is in the hundreds (unless I'm not looking in the right places?). I only want them to be able to talk and text, everything else will be locked down. But flip phones are pretty terrible for text -- I get that it would be hard since big group chats are how they all communicate. What's everyone else doing? Just spending a lot of money? Thanks

You understand they will be the weird kid that can’t iMessage or WhatsApp chat (I know this b/c I grew up with out a phone number my friends could call).

If your DD is pretty and popular, or DS is sports champ, I’m sure they can weather being outside of things and friends will jump hurdles to reach them.

But kids spontaneously plan over group messaging (not just txt b/c group txts are real flaky), and your basic phone will ostracize them. Maybe that’s your goal, and they will spend more time on SAT prep.

https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-popularity-teens-piper-jaffray-2018-4

One compromise, get them that track phone with a mobile hot spot option, and let them tether a $200 iPod touch or simply use the family iPad with their own accounts. They maybe late to everything and get messages after things are over, but st least in conversation.

We got new phones for ourselves (during a buy one, get one free deal) and gave our DD our old phone.

Cricket has a lot of cheap plans. We pay $20 a person for nearly unlimited everything. Look at a used Samsung.

We upgraded. They got our old ones. You can get an iPhone 6 or 7. We have older phones.

OP here - Thanks for all these tips!

Last year, I finally bought my 13 yr old DS his first phone. The deal was buy one, get one free so I upgraded my phone and got him a free one. I was going to to upgrade anyway. Just wait for these deals. There are always cheaper phones than an iPhone but in this case, his was free so why not?

I got my kid a $45 LG android smartphone through Tracfone. Good parental controls through Google, good price for phone and reasonable service plan options.

Gazelle.com.

Yes, iPhones are expensive. Avoid Apple and get a cheaper brand - the Samsung, LG, Nokia all have basic smartphones. Even cheaper if you buy used.

Sorry it’s twigby.com

Check out twiggy.com. Got a really basic plan there for my 6th grader.

If you don't have an old phone to pass down to your kids, are you spending $$$ to get them one? I started looking today and it's so much more than I expected. Even an old used iPhone is in the hundreds (unless I'm not looking in the right places?). I only want them to be able to talk and text, everything else will be locked down. But flip phones are pretty terrible for text -- I get that it would be hard since big group chats are how they all communicate. What's everyone else doing? Just spending a lot of money? Thanks