I live in Korea, and you can buy a 20 dollar phone here. They don't charge incoming calls or texts, so people can still get a hold of you if you decide you don't want to pay to be able to send messages or call people.
Alternatively, for other countries, there's now this:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/gotenna-makes-smartphones-into-walkie-talkies-sort-of-91994621824.htmlSo buy you a cheap phone and this little gadget and you save money over the long run, theoretically. I haven't run the numbers on it, but I think it's worth a try.
