If they do not need Internet/data the best thing might be to just a Trac Phone and get a flip phone for $15 at Target and then just buy prepaid minutes as needed. That is what my Dad used 15+ years. In addition to cost over a smartphone, the battery can last over a week between charges.
https://www.target.com/p/tracfone-prepaid-alcatel-myflip-4gb-flip-phone-gray/-/A-53661462 

The Best Cheap Phone Plans for 2020 - There are a lot of options beyond the big four phone carriers in the US. If you're looking to save money, these lesser-known low-cost cell phone plans might be the ticket.
https://www.pcmag.com/article/259293/the-best-cheap-cell-phone-plans-youve-never-heard-of 

Sounds like you got somewhere that wanted a Microsoft account and was asking you to create a new account which asked for the info. Most people with Windows will have both a Google and Microsoft account. If you create a free Microsoft account it can be use login to Windows when your PC starts, store info on the Microsoft Cloud, store settings for Windows and the Microsoft Browsers, and other functions. It is not required in WIndows to have a Microsoft account, but can it can make things easier. If you do create a Microsoft account you should use a different password and account than you setup for Google/Gmail.

I did take a look at the PC and found that when he was attempting to print an email from the Chrome Browser that was the problem. During the conversion of the PC from Windows 7 to Windows 10 his old printer was not setup. When printing it was trying to save the print to Microsoft Onenote and that was the software wanting a Microsoft Account. I could not find a print driver or setup for his old printer. We tried several things from the Internet and could not get Windows 10 to work with the old printer. It was decided that it was time to get a new printer.

You will find deals at all of them. For a laptop I would recommend you buy new and not a refurbished one. Sounds like you want a large hard drive. Some of the newer models have a Solid State Drive "SSD" which is like a flash drive with no moving parts. This makes the laptop smaller, faster, and the battery last longer. An example from Amazon for a Lenovo Ideapad Premium 15.6 laptop 8 GB, 1 TB, Windows 10, with DVD for $310.

Most of the sites will let you Search and filter for a New, 8 GB, and hard disk size or other criteria. You can then change the sort to lowest price to high instead of the default "Featured" results.

Member Responds - Sounds like a Lenovo is OK by you.  Think by the numbers I saw in NewEgg that the super sales is over.  You pointed to what I would say is a very acceptable laptop.  Must be new.  Not sure if an Intel i5 is needed as i3 is likely OK for my needs.  Appreciate what you pointed out to me.  I have been watching WalMart and Target. By the way.  Do I need a program to transfer the info from my Asus to the new computer?

Tom Responds - The first thing to do on the new laptop is setup/decide what antivirus you plan to use. Uninstall other antivirus versions that may have come with the new laptop and any trial or packages you will never use on the laptop. You do not need to buy a package to transfer data. You should be backing up your current user data to a local hard drive or to a cloud drive. Use that to copy the data to the new laptop (Documents, Photos, Videos). You will have to install local software like Quicken, Chrome, LastPass, any utilities, etc. on the new computer from DVDs or the internet. The rest is your internet bookmarks, contacts, calendar, etc. which should be set from the cloud once you login. You will have print drivers and other things to install as you start to use it.

Member Responds - Just reading the Amazon comments.  I see  that the computer comes with Windows 10-S and that some people had problems with some programs.  It is possible to revert to Windows 10 Home but not real easy.  Don't know if this would be a problem for me?  Noticed that Amazon carries a similar Levono but the speeds and memory is somewhat less.  It has an Intel processor but not sure if I want to pay the same price for a slower speed laptop. I cannot live without a DVD on the laptop. I use Norton ( loadable on a dvd) and already bought it for next year but waiting to load it until last yrs version is closer to expiring.

Tom Responds - I did not know that it comes with Windows 10-S. You would not like to run it as 10-S, but sounds like it can be turned off to run normal. I do not know what is involved or if you want the added hassle. I listed the Lenovo laptop just as an example, there are hundreds of laptops on amazon that are less than $400. Not sure if you can live without a DVD or less hard disk. HP is the #1 seller of laptops. Most software today can be installed without a DVD. You connect to a web site, download, install, and put in a product key to activate the software. You are seeing less and less laptops and desktops with DVDs.