ASK AMY

One thing I like about prenuptial agreements is that they can compel couples to discuss and negotiate their way through their financial future together. It sounds as if you are imposing a set of values and boundaries on your fiancee, and even though it is your right to do what you want with your money, you shouldn't expect her to like everything about it.

As part of your prenup, you and your fiancee should also discuss and agree upon the maximum level of consumer debt that either of you can maintain. It sounds to me as if your fiancee has a real spending problem, which could become your problem when you marry and if, God forbid, you divorce.

Dear Amy:

How do I get it across to people that I don't keep their hours? I have worked nights and have had people, including family, call during the day when I am sleeping. Now because of animals getting me up at 2 or 3 a.m., I go to bed at around 7:30 to 8 p.m., and people often seem to call me after that time.

How do I get the message across that I am sleeping at a certain time?

Sleepless

Like you, I don't like to take calls at night. Like you, I sometimes don't want to talk on the phone during the day. However, sometimes friends and family forget the optimal hours to call. Sometimes old pals who have had one too many engage in a little drunken dialing late at night, and who doesn't love that? Telemarketers also have an unerring ability to call at dinnertime, even if it is at 2 p.m.

The solution is to get an answering machine or voice mail, my friend. You turn the ringer off and the machine retrieves your calls. If you care to, you can remind callers on your outgoing message that the best time to reach you is between 5 and 7 p.m.

Dear Amy:

I am a 14-year-old girl. I need to buy a Christmas gift for my boyfriend of seven months, but I have no idea what to get! Is there some secret rule that women use to find the perfect gift every time? Help!

Giftless

As far as I know, many women never get it right when it comes to giving guys gifts.

A DVD of a movie or TV show that the two of you could watch and enjoy together might be a good fit. Just make sure that your pick isn't too "girlie." Stay away from "The Notebook."

Write to Amy Dickinson ataskamy@tribune.comor Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.

2006by the Chicago Tribune Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.