Good cheap hobby phone virgin?

I am also in the market for a inexpensive hobby phone option. Data is not really a need for me however I prefer not to text on an old school button phone. I have good smart phone not being used (through tmobile). If I get a prepaid tmobile sim card that I see available at walmart.. they mention something like $30 a month. My question is how can I keep that completely anonymous? I would prefer purchasing cards with cash... I don't want to have to pay for a monthly fee via CC as that defeats the purpose. I am completely ignorant of how these things work.. someone please explain this to me like I'm a 4 year old. Thanks...

Prepaid plans do not require that you sign a contract or give your name. The smartphone may require that you have a dataplan to work properly. T-Mobile has cards you can buy at Walmart. The first step is to call to find out if the phone is compatible with the plan. Then you can register the phone online with a fake name from a public wifi.
The easiest way would be to buy a prepaid phone & plan minutes from Walmart, turn it on & enter the prepaid card #. No need to call & if u pay cash, there is zero percent of linking it back to you. At&t has a simple pantech with a qwerty keyboard for about $60.