my brother and i buy our base grain by the bag and hops by the pound.
we pay 22.50 for 55lbs of Gambrinous, and from $3.60 to 8 bucks for a pound of hops, leaf or pellets about the same price. we've got a hundred lbs of grain, and maybe six lbs of various hops.
we store the grain in the bag in a rubbermaid tub, cool and dry. Grind it as we go. Freezer bags for the hops.
buying in bulk has saved us a ton...but we make a lot of beer. it is very helpful to belong to a very strong Homebrew Club, thankfully some of them are also interested in paying as little as possible for high quality ingrediants.
morbro