A usable basement adds square footage without expanding your house's footprint. A nice basement is not that different than a second floor. Using a basement as a storage container is just a waste.
My basement is made of wood, luckily I live in an area that let me easily do that. High hill, very sandy soil, relatively low water table. It's not that much more than a block/concrete basement. If you can lay the blocks yourself it's cheaper to go block/concrete. Concrete footings, 2x8 pressure treated lumber frame walls anchored to the footings. 1/2 pressure treated plywood. Double layer of poly wrap around the outside of the walls, buried out flat 2 foot from the wall at the bottom. 2x4 pressure treated lumber floors, 3/4 inch pressure treated plywood. Layer of poly wrap underneath the floor separating the wood from the ground. By having a wood basement, it doesn't feel like a basement. And it makes remodeling that much easier.
____________________________
Can't sleep, clown will eat me.