Id argue 90% of home ownership boils down to trying to keep outside air and water out of the house. If you can do both of those, you're winning the battle.

Water will find a way.
We had the whole foundation drain replaced and urethane sprayed the whole thing.
That was expensive as fuck, but no regrets.
The dehumidifier barely has to run in the basement now too.
Still, 20k was a lot of money to keep water out.

Honestly, start saving and complete exterior earthworks. Excavate, line/enhance the foundation, and install professional drainage tech around the perimeter. Everything else is a stop gap

Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Flex Seal? You can make a boat with it and float around in your basement!

Time to try sumpin' new

Expensive is digging out foundations to put in weeping tile and a sump.

I swear, you could have a house on top of the biggest rock in the Atacama Desert, and water would still find a way to get into the basement.

Mmm theres nothing like the taste of fresh natural spring water straight from the source

Water is patient. Water just waits. Wears down the cliff tops, the mountains. The whole of the world. Water always wins.

I worked through college doing landscaping for new construction in the Midwest. I don't know about all the rest of the stuff here, but we spent most of our work to put a 2' plastic barrier all around the house. In some situations we'd put in a French drain around the house, too. Later on, I figured out that we needed to cover the gap from the backfill so that the water would at least start it's journey moving away from the house. We'd also mound up the dirt next to the house because it would settle.

I see the new cheap "nationwide" builders now will sod right up to the house and in talking with the homeowners, they all have an active sump and worry about finishing off the basement for that one time that the sump doesn't keep up.

Good luck with your project.

https://waterproof.com/

I've installed this baseboard gutter system in a few basements. Doesn't solve the problem but it prevents flooding of the floor at a much cheaper price.

I get the appeal of a basement from a space perspective, but this is the exact reason why I always steer clear of any house with a basement when house shopping. Seen too many flooded basements.

Is this an American thing? I've never heard of a foundation leak before.