There's plenty of threads of "watch me finish my basement" which I love, but some of us spend all our money on pins, or just don't have the time. Now don't get me wrong, I have all intentions of finishing my basement, but I'm doing it slowly and this is meant as a nice temporary solution while you do things like build up the wall studs, the flooring is always last.

Start out by adding some good lighting. Every basement has those crappy single bulbs every 6 feet, so I bought a bulb socket to AC converter (supports up to 660 watts):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PCVTFC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Then bought 4 of these sealed fluorescent bulb strips (they are chainable too):
http://www.lightingdirect.com/elco-eus21w-single-f21t5-slimline-fluorescent-undercabinet-and-cove-light/p1355782?source=trm_OrderConfirmation_LightingDirect.com_p1355782

And have them remotely turn on with this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039UT6ZI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage
0drab_basement.jpg

So I really hate my basement floor. The concrete floor isn't comfortable, it collects dust, and the dogs hate it. I once bought one of those 12 footer rolls of carpet from home depot (the stuff that's like 45 cents per sq foot), but that got soaked during a flood, and I didn't want to haul that home a second time.

Finally got tired of it, so I started walking around home depot and I found this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/qv/202072107

For $18 you get a 6 foot x 8 foot piece of indoor/outdoor carpet. It's thin, it has no backing so it's slippery, but it's cheap cheap carpet that's easy to manage in chunks (37 cents per sq foot), and it beats concrete. Now pair that with some strong carpet tape:
1tape_box.jpg

And you tape the perimeter where the carpet is going to go down on the concrete. It's usually easier if lay the carpet in place, then trace the outline with a pencil, then go back and lay down the first side.
2tape.jpg

Once that's down, you can curl the carpet back and do another side. I recommend for the last 2 sides to lay down the tape on both ends so you can pull on the carpet and stretch it taught so you don't get any wrinkles
3tape.jpg

This is the end result.
4carpet_done.jpg
It's not super, but it's a HUGE improvement, and it cost me less than $100 to cover a 12' x 16' area, and maybe 4 hours of work (including sweeping, mopping, moving stuff around).

I also bought a fatigue mat for $20 that is 3 feet x 4 feet:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Black-24-in-x-36-in-Anti-Fatigue-Vinyl-Foam-Commercial-Mat-60-571-0900-20000300/202015909

Finally started to close off the foundation wall going down the stairs. Your first step is to get rid of the noses on each step. You can either do it the REALLY hard way (plunge a circular saw getting as close to the wall as you can, then prying off the last inch), or you can simply fill in the recess underneath. Because stairs can vary, I recommend buying a bunch of cheap plywood sheets in both 1/2" and 5/8" (you will use two 1/2", or one 1/2" and one 5/8"). You can finish off the stairs with a runner carpet, or build it back up with finished wood.

Because I have a 32" door leading to the basement with 36" wide stairs, it was important I maintain this width going down. I chose 2x2's to stud the framing (it's actually 1.5x1.5"). I first applied drylok to the foundation wall. Not completely necessary on the wall joining the garage, but I like insurance against moisture. Once that was dry I started to stud an 8 foot section of wall pretty much ending at the end of the stairs. I then used 1" foam insulation (5 R rating) to go between. Make sure you spray liquid foam in any cracks you can fit the straw nozzle into.
foam_insulation.jpg

Once that all settled, I measured all the steps to be sure my cuts in the 1/2" drywall were going to be accurate. Get your first two screws in to hold it in place, then go to town.
drywall.jpg