I'm not the only penny-wise, pound-foolish cheapskate out there.

Last week, I wrote how I had once fractured my kneecap in a fall, trying to keep from spilling a few dollars' worth of dog food. Readers have since shared their tales of woe, and I now realize I got off lightly.

One New Jersey man decided to paint the exterior of his house to save money. It was all going well until the ladder slipped.

'When I hit the ground, I ended up on top of the ladder and the paint splashed all over my face. So I was then treated to an ambulance ride to the local hospital where I found out that I had two broken bones in my shoulder, one rib fracture, and one broken finger bone, plus numerous scrapes and cuts. At the hospital, the doctor's first comment about the paint all over my face was 'nice color.''

In the column, I wrote that I would have been better off dropping the dog food and using my hands to break my fall. Not so, said one Washington, D.C., reader.

'You could have broken your fall with your hand but might have done what I recently did in a fall and fracture your wrist and damage tendons in your hand. It might be better to have your knee not quite the same instead of one of your typing hands.'

Well, he has a point. What has my knee ever done for me other than allow me to walk? Whereas I've managed to scratch out a living for 29 years now with my hands and a keyboard.

One Texas banker wrote me about his bad decision to cut his own firewood a few years ago.

'We had not been there 15 minutes when my chainsaw kicked back and nearly lopped off my thumb. . . . A trip to the emergency room and several trips to a hand specialist led to the most expensive firewood I have ever burned. Since that day, I have not complained about the price of a delivered cord of wood. Anytime I get the idea that I could save some money by doing something myself, I look at my deformed thumb and reconsider.'

One Atlanta reader wrote about taking along his seven-year-old Basset hound when he traveled to a wedding.

'We could have stayed at a motel that allowed pets for $25 a night more than we paid at the motel that did not allow pets. We decided to stay at the less-expensive motel and take Baby into our room even though the sign in the lobby said 'No Dogs Allowed.' The motel security camera caught us taking our 60-pound hound into the room and we were billed an extra $175 for 'cleaning expenses' because of the dog. Bad decision.'

Another reader decided to save himself money by buying a used basketball hoop and bracket and then constructing his own post and backboard. Only problem was the concrete hardened before he could get the post sunk to the right height. And he got paint all over himself.

'By the time I got the thing mounted and somewhat stable, the rim was two feet higher than regulation. To put it mildly, [my] boys were crestfallen. Already I had spent more than $300 -- not including the cost of my ruined clothing -- to get this $1.50 hoop up to where my little boys could barely reach it with the ball. Luckily, a friend (who unlike me was an accomplished handyman) accidentally knocked it down with his truck and offered to replace it himself with a kit from a sporting goods store, which cost me a little over $100, fully installed.'

I feel his pain. I'm a real klutz, and I rarely try repairs around the house myself. But when I do try, it rarely goes well. My wife, Clarissa, calls me a 'handyfoot.'

You don't have to pick up a hammer to cost yourself money. One reader told me what happened when, while living in Alaska, he returned to a supermarket to retrieve a box of crackers he had paid for but mistakenly left behind.

'It was snowing and the roads were slippery. A Jeep Cherokee in front of me was stopped in the middle of the road. I braked but skidded into him, smashing the front end and totaling my car (without even scratching the Jeep). To top it off, I got a ticket for rear-ending the Jeep. All for a box of crackers. What was I thinking?'

我发现这世上像我这样省小钱吃大亏的小气鬼到处都是。

上次我在一篇文章中写了自己的经历：为了不让几美元的狗粮洒掉，我摔了一跤，把膝盖摔裂了。随后有许多读者跟我分享了各自的悲惨经历，我才发现原来自己还不算是最点儿背的。

新泽西有位仁兄为了省钱，决定自己粉刷屋子外墙。本来一切顺利，但到了最后，梯子滑倒了。

“我人还在梯子顶上呢，一下就拍到了地上，油漆溅了我满头满脸。我马上被救护车送到当地医院，诊断结果是肩膀两根骨头骨折，一根肋骨碎裂，还有一个手指也断了，全身上下还有无数刮伤蹭伤。在医院里，医生看着我满脸的油漆，第一句话居然是'颜色调得还不赖'。”

我在那篇专栏文章中写道，我当时要是把狗粮扔了，用双手撑住自己也许会好一些。此言差矣──华盛顿特区一位读者如是说。

“你是可以用手撑住自己不摔跤，但是也许就会落得跟我一样的下场：腕关节折断，手部肌腱受损。膝盖摔伤总要好过弄坏一只打字的手。”

嗯，此话在理。除了走路之外，膝盖还有什么别的用处？而手呢，整整二十九年来，我维持生计靠的可就是一双手和一个键盘呀。

德克萨斯一位银行家写信讲了他几年前的一个错误决定：自己锯木柴。

“我们干了还不到15分钟，我那把电锯突然反转了，差点把我的大拇指整个削了下来……我被送到了急诊室，后来又去一位专家那里接受了好几次治疗。那绝对是我烧过的最贵的木柴了。打那以后，我就再也没埋怨过现成的木柴卖得太贵了。现在，每当我想为了省点钱而自己动手之前，我都会先看看我那变形了的大拇指，再好好权衡一番。”

亚特兰大一位读者在信中说，有次他去参加婚礼，还带着自己七岁、大名宝贝儿(Baby)的巴塞特猎犬同行。

“我们真该选择允许宠物入住的汽车旅馆，一晚只比住不许宠物入内的旅馆多花25美元。但当时我们决定住便宜些的。虽然大堂里有个牌子写着'狗不得入内'，我们还是带着宝贝儿住了进去。旅馆的安检摄像头拍下了我们带着这只体重60磅的猎狗走进房间的场景，为此我们多交了175美元的'清洁费'。真是个愚蠢透顶的决定。”

还有一位读者为了省钱，买了个旧的篮球筐和支架，打算自己弄个篮球架。问题在于，他还没来得及把支架弄到合适的高度，混凝土就凝固了，他把自己弄了一身的油漆。

“等我把架子固定好后，发现篮筐的高度比正常高了两英尺。我的几个儿子都很沮丧。前后算下来，不算我被弄坏了的衣服，我一共花了300多美元来搞定这个价值1.5美元的篮筐，可是我那几个年幼的孩子基本上都够不到。还好，我这个笨手笨脚的人有个心灵手巧的朋友，有一天他的卡车不小心把我的篮球架撞倒了，他主动要求由他动手来个大改造，于是乎我又花了100多美元从体育用品店里买了新的全套篮球架装备。”

我对这位读者的烦恼感同身受。我的手也很笨，所以很少会自己动手修理家里的东西。但就算我亲自上阵，并使出吃奶的力气，往往也没什么好结果。我妻子克拉丽莎经常取笑我说我长了双“脚一样的手”。

那么不挥着榔头瞎折腾就不会花冤枉钱了吗？非也。有一位读者告诉了我他住阿拉斯加时的一次经历：他在超市买了一盒克力架饼干却忘了拿，于是就开车回去取。

“当时正下着雪，路上很滑。前方有辆切诺基停在路当中。我踩了刹车，却还是径直滑了过去，我的车身前部严重受损，车子也彻底报废了（那辆切诺基却毫发无损）。最糟糕的是，我还收到了一张追尾的罚单。就为了一盒克力架饼干。真不知道我当时是怎么想的。”