i got a pixel 8a used for cheap. installing grapheneOS was a breeze and took less than 10 minutes following their guide (i watched a youtube video in advance as well, but did not factor in the time.)

installed f-droid and aurora and have access to all apps i need, avoiding what i need to avoid :)

i still have my one plus with google services and apps like whatsapp that i will slowly transition away from. my biggest problem is that i can easily switch to communication apps like threema and signal (and have years ago) - but the sad truth is that many of my contacts are still on whatsapp