The cost of smart phones

Domyou not have younger family members or friends who are buying a new phone? DH always has DS's old phone. He then just transfers his SIM.

My DH bought his phone secondhand from an online site, Music Magpie I think it was called. Should say our DS helped choose a suitable one.

I hope you have someone who can help and guide you as to what is best for your needs, you don’t need an all singing, all dancing one with an expensive contract.

I forgot to say, mine was secondhand.
A bit of a risk, but I struck lucky; people who upgrade often sell their old phones on.

I pay £10 per month. And the phone cost me £120 over 4 years ago. Some supermarkets have phone deals which are brilliant.

I know it's none of my business, but I can't help feeling that you might qualify for Pension Credit as your income seems very low. Might be worth claiming?

I paid 60 pounds for mine about 5 years ago, and don't have a contract.

As NotSpaghetti said, you can buy a second hand one quite cheaply, and then a monthly contract can be for about £4-£5.

Mine is about £11 I think. My husband's is less. I bought a cheap one recently "outright" and the data/calls etc is covered by the monthly charge.
Not all phones are very expensive.
Good luck.