I grappled with this for a long time. It really went against my frugal ethos to spend so much on consuming disposable, locked down hardware.

I'm in a position now where I am able to use my desktop for computing and the cheapest TCL A3 that money can buy as a phone. It has Google Maps, my bank app on it for mobile deposits, a web browser, and a few other small apps from F-Droid. Works just fine.