The Habit of the Hawk. What it is (and what it isn't)

A hawk is observing and ready to act. AI-generated image.

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We call it the Habit of the Hawk — a mindset, habit, and practice that sharpens your financial awareness and accelerates your response. Your response ability.

“Wealth isn’t just built by what you earn, but by what you catch, correct, and redirect.”

— Little Success Habits

A hawk doesn’t obsess. It observes from above, calm, watchful. Ready. But when the pattern breaks or a target is identified? It moves instantly.

That’s what you must build with your money:

• Awareness of where it’s going (which is different than the Habit of the Budget or the Habit of Allocation). An example of a budget breakdown can be found in 'How to budget $6,000 per month using the 10-20-70 rule'.

• Ownership of how it moves.

• Action, when something feels off

🧠 The Hawk Sees the Flow — and the Disruptions

Every dollar has a path. A flow. But too often:

• A charge hits that you didn’t expect.

• A subscription renews you meant to cancel.

• You overspend and only notice after the damage is done.

  
  

The hawk doesn’t let that happen. It sees disruptions and acts immediately (connected to the Habit of Prompt Action).

🦅 What The Habit of the Hawk Is (and Isn’t)

The hawk isn’t obsessing over every dollar. It’s not chasing receipts or micromanaging budgets. The Habit of the Hawk is the intentional observation of your money and how it flows in different accounts. It's connecting to your budget and spends and noticing what is happening regularly.

It’s about elevation. Observation. Precision.

What it is:

• A daily awareness of your financial flows. Was that money meant to do that? Did you see an expected transaction or is it something to look into?

• A sharp eye for disruptions or leaks.

• A built-in reflex to act quickly when something’s off.

What it isn’t:

• ❌ Constantly refreshing your accounts in fear.

• ❌ Judging yourself for every purchase.

• ❌ Trying to control every variable to the cent.

• ❌ Letting perfectionism override momentum.

A hawk doesn’t react to every gust of wind. It doesn’t flap in panic. It glides, it watches, and when the pattern breaks — it moves.

This habit is about being calm, capable, and in command of your money — not stressed or hypervigilant.

🔁 How to Build the Habit of the Hawk

Daily:

🕖 Morning: Glance at your checking & credit accounts (2 mins). We do it as a way of checking transactions across all accounts. Connect it to something you're already doing. I check my fiances every morning as I'm waiting for my coffee to finish brewing.

🕛 Midday or evening: Tag or log a transaction — check for alignment⚡ If something’s off? Take immediate action (cancel, transfer, adjust, flag).

Weekly:🔁 Review your flow: What worked? What felt off? What needs to shift?

⚡ The Power Is in the Speed

This habit has saved me more times than I can count:

• It’s helped me avoid late fees.

• It’s caught fraud early.

• It’s redirected money before it vanished or was insufficient.

Here are real examples of The Habit of the Hawk in action:

• Noticing and being observant with my credit card. Why is it not working as expected? Because I’m hawkish, I can target and figure out quickly why it’s not working.

• Checking like a hawk. Ensuring I know my positions and how much cash I have.

• Spotted a return or late fee which was incorrect, and due to quick action got it fully refunded.

• Got an account reactivated in time to allow for money flows to that account.

• Seeing the recurring subscription that I'm not using, and getting reminded to cancel or change it

• Because I’m monitoring my transactions, I spotted that I needed to add a bit more to an account to ensure that the car insurance is paid in full without issue.

That’s the hidden win of habit — not just awareness, but the muscle of prompt action.

You see it. You act. It’s your money. Protect the flows.

You're making the observation of your money intentional till it's a habit. By observing the flows and what you spend on, you can connect it to your budget and understand why you want to spend on something. Let us know how you do being vigilant and hawkish over your money. Build it into your daily routine and habits.

To your success.