Share Everything to Share Nothing

Question

What do I have?
2 basic phones on a family plan - 500 shared minutes that I never use for $59.99 (50+9.99)  VZ would never let me change to a lower minute plan even though we use a negligible amount of shared minutes.  Still we kept overpaying because we like VZ service and coverage and phone selection.
To stay at VZ, we would have to continue overpaying at the current plan, or change to a Share Everything plan, which would truly be a stupid thing to do since 2 basic phones under that plan would cost $70, $10 MORE than what we have now. VZ recommends a 700 minute plan and pay as you go message and data plan.  What a JOKE! 
We have thought about having 1 smart phone and 1 basic phone.  Smart phones do occasionally come in handy.  But for 1 basic phone and 1 smart phone, minimal usage, VZ recommends the 2GB data/unlimited talk and text plan for $130.  Another JOKE.
WHY CAN"T VZ HAVE A PLAN THAT DOES NOT RIP OFF LOW-USE CUSTOMERS?  The prepaid plans VZ has are crap when compared to other companies, which is where we will end up in about a month when our contract ends.  BYE BYE VERIZON!!!

Answer 1

I would stay on the plan you have if you are going to stay with two Basic phones.
For one Smartphone and one Basic phone, you should look into the option of staying with your current plan ($50 + $9.99) and adding Tiered Data (e.g., $30 for 2GB) for the Smartphone line. It may come out cheaper for your situation.
You could likely also add unlimited text, if you need it but sounds like you don't, for $10 per line on your existing plan.