We use the collected water for flowers and plants. I also replenish the water in my outdoor fountain. It's good to refill a birdbath. We also have a basement dehumidifier and rather than let that water go into the drain, we collect it in the unit's collection bucket and use that water for the above purposes. I am sure you could find other uses for collected clean water. Take a look at this article for some ideas. Maybe you will decide to try some of them to save your hard earned money.
http://naturemoms.com/blog/tag/laundry/