Don't you use this?
TBG
Yes, my darling daughter, I do use TracFone. It is fine for infrequent use--10 or 15 minutes per month--but if you use it a lot, it would be better to get a regular plan with Verizon or one of its competitors.
Note that the message units you buy are generally used at the rate of one message unit per minute, but if you are out of your local calling area, the cost is two units per minute.
The network itself is very good--very few lost signals or dropped calls. The phones are generally a year or two behind the curve, but if you pay a bit more, I think you can get some of the bells and whistles.