I'd recommend looking into a camera such as a Ricoh GR series. Yes, it is an additional cost, so it doesn't solve the 'expense' part of the equation, but you'd get significantly better photos from it than any phone camera, plus it's very compact so wouldn't need to lug around much at all in terms of equipment.

Or something like a Fujifilm XM5 with a pancake lens - this will give you a compact setup, with the flexibility of using different lenses if you wished.

I really liked it. The larger screen is more productive, and the improved cameras on the larger phones are worth it for me. I take more and better photos of my kids.

Sometimes it’s worth trying the thing you don’t think you want - you might be surprised.

Instead of trying to shop locally from such a small pool of devices I'd advise the OP to pick a protective case and a screen protector since they seem to hang on to their devices for a long time. A device like the Pixel 9a or the upcoming 10a with their oversized battery for the specs is likely to deliver many years of service before degrading to the point of being unusable.

I had a OnePlus 3T and really didn't want to let it go (particularly because it DOES support VoLTE!) but ultimately got a Pixel 4 and have been using it since.