Cheapest pay as you go phone for emergency use only?

Like the subject says, we're looking at the cheapest phone + plan, mostly to leave around the house now that the kids are getting old enough to leave home for a bit at a time.   Use case would be for the older kids to give a call or send a text while we're with the younger ones at soccer, etc.

My wife and I only have cell phones, so there's no land line.

Thanks!

Home shopping network sells phones with a year limited service on Tracfone for less than $100 , 

if you already have an android phone the same set-up without phone is often on Ebay for less than $50 for the years phone service , 

the Phone "GSM" is https://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php/249-General-Prepaid-discussion

We have a Sim card from Ting with a hand me down cell phone for this purpose. Ends up being like $8 a month for their cheapest plan. 

T-mobile has a bare bones prepaid/pay as you go plan. $3 per month for 30 minutes/texts, then 10¢ per minute/text.

You can still buy minutes for phones from Wal-Mart.  Dad does that cause he still has a land line and lives where there's no cell reception, so it is solely for when he is travelling.

j_tso said:

T-mobile has a bare bones prepaid/pay as you go plan. $3 per month for 30 minutes/texts, then 10¢ per minute/text.

I had this for a while.  It is very hard to find on their website, so if you are interested, dig deep.

Thanks for all the ideas guys!

I believe Mint Mobile is "Pay for what you need", so you could literally have a "phone plan" thats just 500 texts.

I'd buy a used phone you can swap the battery on. All phones once they have a carrier or a GSM card installed will be able to call 911; it's an actual federal law.

I've used a Tracfone for the last three years.  I can't give you a cost/min but it's costing me about $.15/day.  I don't use it much, though.  

I spend about $60-100/year for a Tracfone.  The phone itself was like $50 in a blister pack at K-mart.

I have my MIL on Tracfone for $99 for a year with 800 minutes. Any unused minutes roll over if you renew on/before the end date. She has some 2,000 minutes now. 

The handsets (flip phone) is about $19.99. Available at any Wal-Mart. 

Is there a tablet in the house with wifi? 

Have the kids communicate with you over FB messenger or apple face time or Google Voice number. 

All those options are free. 

Here are some , a phone and 1 year service for a year starting at $60 , 

the 1500 minutes / texts is per 12 months ( average 120 a month ) , not monthly , 

https://www.hsn.com/shop/prepaid-no-contract-cell-phones/ec0374

I've used TracFone for years now. It started out because it had the best service out here somehow but I've kept it.

At one point they gave you 3x the days/minutes/texts all the time. I bought a lot of time years ago and am currently on service til 2049. I pay about $10 a month, mostly for extra data

Red Pocket has a $30 for 12 months plan with 200 minutes, 1000 texts & 200mB data per month on Evilbay.  T-mobile network for GSM or Sprint network for CDMA (will not let you port a Sprint CDMA phone # to the CDMA plan in the fine print).  Only extra cost is sales tax charged by Evilbay.  I just ordered one for $32.xx to try on an old phone.  They have other plans with other networks depending on your needs.

Linky McStinky

John Welsh said:

Is there a tablet in the house with wifi? 

Have the kids communicate with you over FB messenger or apple face time or Google Voice number. 

All those options are free. 

But none of them work if the power goes out.  The psycho murderers always shut off power before they go to work... ;)

My Tracfone service works out to about $80 per year with the 2-year plan.