Unfortunately I don't remember exactly how much I spent on alchemy up to 41, but that does sound a little high. You did spend 21 training points first I hope?
If you're worrying about spending money though then perhaps you shouldn't be pursuing alchemy. IMHO alchemy is really for Shaman who:
- want the convenience of being able to make potions for themselves and their friends, and are willing to pay for that privilege
- are planning to spend huge amounts of time in EC selling other items, so they might as well make a few plat selling potions on the side
If you don't fall in to one of those two categories then I'd recommend against spending any more time/money on alchemy. It only gets more expensive the higher you go.