Spending season is over and the season of “mailbox fear” begins. For those of you who bought Christmas gifts online via credit card, I guess you can call it “inbox fear.” It’s all the same, really.

What’s lurking in the mail that’s so scary? It’s those credit card bills, statements and other little reminders of how much money flew out the window since Thanksgiving. I take the Henry David Thoreau stance on holiday spending, in that I keep my accounts on my thumbnail, so to speak. My two surgeries since August to remove some stones from each kidney complicated this strategy somewhat, though I’m taking it as a speed bump and not a wall.

Those New Year’s resolutions we make, break and joke about are tough enough when it comes to vices not tied to money-management. For those that want to watch their money more closely, personal finance website WalletHub is johnny-on-the-spot this week with 15 money-related do’s and don’ts for 2015. I won’t list all of them here, because not all their talking points apply to everyone’s situation, but a few are worth a mention.

Whether it’s a pie chart or a list scribbled on a napkin, make a budget. Know what bills are due and when they’re due. The site notes 39 percent of adults have a budget and that Americans are expected to pile up about $60 billion in credit card debt for 2014. Much of that comes from spending money willy-nilly with money not actually on hand, which helped sink the economy a few years ago. Even if automating all your payments scares you, as it does me, don’t put off setting up that payment plan or at least setting a reminder on the new iPhone you probably got for Christmas.

Another point tells us to increase all savings by 15 percent — high-minded stuff in a world where prices never stay down for long. After all, they’ve reeled us in on these $2 a gallon prices at the pump. Enjoy it while the metrics are against the Russians and Venezuelans. I’m sure they’ll change again without so much as a text from OPEC.

The best way to save, and perhaps not be in that 20 percent of people who have no money saved up for retirement as per the Federal Reserve, is to shop small-scale. You put up with modern-day retail store staffing and shop the dollar stores for all your dry goods. Go to the big-box grocers only when you need that certain brand of organic snack food made of chickpeas or that brand name washing detergent.

Most resolute of these pennywise resolutions is to “stress-test” your finances. How can you predict the loss of a job, a house through fire or natural disaster? It’s tough, too scary to fathom, I know. Entering 2014, I had no idea I’d have to find a way to fit a few thousand bucks of medical expenses (that’s after insurance, folks!) into my normal routine of enjoying life.

The best way to tailor a budget to your individual situation is to look inward and immediately around you, according to an expert quoted in the WalletHub item, posted Monday.

“Recessions and economic downturns are no longer global or regional, but they are local to the point of being personal,” said Scott C. Hammond, clinical professor of management with Utah State University’s Jon M. Huntsman Scott School of Business. “Your work, your career, your employer is booming. You get raises and bonuses. Your neighbor is downsizing and hoping that unemployment is extended. With one or two changes, you could be your neighbor. In fact, you will be your neighbor. Eventually we will all be hit. So get ready to recover in advance.”