Lessons from a Profit Coach: The 15-Minute Monday Money Meeting

By Molly Benjamin, Founder of Ladies Finance Club

Listen to the full podcast here.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re “good with money” in theory, but in real life your bank balance still manages to surprise you, you’re not alone. Most women don’t need more willpower, they need a simple system that makes money feel calm, clear, and manageable.

In this episode of Get Rich, I sat down with Clare Wood, a profit coach (yes, it’s as good as it sounds), to talk about the personal finance systems she uses at home that help her and her husband stay on top of cash flow, plan ahead, and build wealth, even through unpredictable business income, kids, and an expensive Sydney mortgage.

Clare’s whole thing is helping people keep the money they make, and what I loved most is how practical her approach is. No “perfect budget” fantasy. No complicated apps. Just short, repeatable financial meetings that give you clarity and control.

And honestly, this episode is a reminder that financial literacy isn’t about being good at maths, it’s about being good at checking in.

Meet Clare Wood, the “profit coach” who actually talks numbers

Clare describes herself as a profit coach because her background is in accounting, and her coaching is deeply rooted in the numbers. She doesn’t coach from vibes alone. She’ll literally say, “Open your Xero file, let’s look at your profit and loss report.”

Her mission (very aligned with ours) is helping more women become wealthy, and helping more women build profitable businesses. But what’s surprising is that the exact same frameworks she teaches business owners can work beautifully in your personal life too, even if you’re not a business owner.

Because at the end of the day, whether you run a business or work a 9–5, cash flow is cash flow.

The 15-Minute Monday Money Meeting, your weekly cash flow forecast

The core system Clare and her partner use is a 15-minute money meeting every Monday morning, and the goal is simple:

Look ahead at what’s coming in, what’s going out, and when.

Not in a vague monthly way. Clare does it week by week, which gives them a two to three-month forward view of their money, including big chunky expenses like private health insurance, rates, and Christmas.

This is what makes it powerful. It turns money from “reactive” to “planned”.

Instead of a bill showing up and creating panic, you’ve already seen it coming and you’ve already decided how you’ll handle it.

What this meeting includes

Clare’s Monday check-in focuses on:

• What money is coming in (salary, income, invoices, payments)
  
• What money is going out (bills, repayments, expenses)
  
• The timing of everything, week by week
  
• A rolling forecast of the next 8–12 weeks
  
• A “closing cash balance” so you can see if you’re heading towards a squeeze
  

This is the part I loved, because it’s not just tracking, it’s decision-making. If Clare can see the household is going to dip negative in a few weeks, they can act early, adjust spending, delay a purchase, set up a payment plan, or plan for a lighter month.

It’s proactive money management, not “hope and pray”.

How to set it up in a practical way (even if you feel clueless)

Clare was very honest about something most people don’t admit, when she first started this she didn’t even know when her bills came out or how much they were.

So the first step was a one-off “money detective” session:

• Export bank transaction history (CSV)
  
• Find recurring bills (insurance, utilities, subscriptions, rates)
  
• Record the amount, frequency, and due date
  

Once you’ve done that initial work, the weekly meeting becomes quick because the data is already there. Clare said the first setup took around an hour and a half, but now they keep it to 15 minutes a week.

Also, it’s worth saying, Clare tried tools and tech for cash flow forecasting, but she still prefers a spreadsheet because it’s flexible. You can move expenses around, adjust timing, and actually see what’s happening.

Old school wins sometimes.

The Friday Money Meeting, the “grown-up” personal finance check-in

Clare and her husband also do a Friday morning money meeting, and this one is less about forecasting and more about staying aligned and moving forward on bigger money topics.

They have a money book (yes, adorable), an agenda, and something most couples are missing, an action plan.

They’ll talk through things like:

• Superannuation
  
• Shares and investing progress
  
• Insurances
  
• Upcoming lifestyle costs (kids, holidays, bigger plans)
  
• Any money decisions they need to make
  

The secret sauce is accountability. If Clare owns the task of getting health insurance quotes, her husband checks in the next week. If it didn’t happen, no shame, it stays on the agenda until it’s done.

That’s how financial admin stops becoming the thing you “mean to do one day”, and starts becoming something you actually do.

This is wealth building in real life.

How to make money meetings fun (so your partner doesn’t hate you)

This part made me laugh because Clare is a self-confessed “spreadsheet Labrador”, she loves it, her husband not so much.

So they made the meetings enjoyable:

• They go to a favourite coffee shop
  
• Sometimes they do it at the beach
  
• Sometimes it’s a pub money meeting (beer included)
  
• The environment makes it feel less like a chore
  

Even better, her husband now leads the meeting, which shifts the dynamic from “one person dragging the other” to shared ownership.

If you’re single, Clare’s advice was brilliant too, pair it with something your brain loves. Ice cream. A walk. A fancy coffee. A reward. The point is to train your brain to associate money check-ins with something positive, not dread.

The monthly review, where the truth comes out

On top of weekly check-ins, Clare does a monthly review where she looks back at what actually happened.

She compares spending against what they planned (hello eating out category), and uses that to adjust the next month. Some months it’s a celebration, other months it’s a reality check, but either way it keeps the household moving forward.

This is the part so many people skip. They set a budget, then never look again. Clare’s system works because it’s not set and forget, it’s review and refine.

That’s what builds financial literacy.

Why being “on top of money” is freeing, not restrictive

I loved the conversation we had around this idea that being focused on money makes you “stingy” or “bad”.

Clare’s experience (and mine) is the opposite. When you know what’s going on, you feel calmer. You make better decisions. You stop getting shocked by your own bank account.

And over time, the benefits compound. Clare talked about watching their savings and investments grow simply because they kept putting attention on it.

Where your focus goes, your money goes.

Side hustle advice from a profit coach, start before you’re ready

We also talked about entrepreneurship and the rise of the side hustle, because so many women have ideas but get stuck in the same trap:

“I need a website, a logo, a business plan, a name…”

Clare’s advice was refreshingly blunt.

Just start.

Sell something small. Offer a service. Help someone. Get paid. That’s it. That’s the beginning of a business.

Clare gave examples like:

• Babysitting or dog sitting for paid hours
  
• Basic VA or admin work (often paid well hourly)
  
• Social media help
  
• Any skill you already have that someone else needs
  

The point isn’t perfection, it’s proof. Proof people will pay. Proof you like doing it. Proof it fits into your life.

Once you’ve validated the idea, then you can worry about branding. Not before.

The bigger lesson, small systems create big wealth

This episode wasn’t about being “good with money”. It was about creating systems that make money easier to manage and less emotional.

A short weekly cash flow check-in.
A slightly deeper financial meeting.
A monthly review.

That’s it.

And if you do those consistently, you build the thing most people are missing, visibility. And visibility leads to better decisions. Better decisions lead to less stress, stronger savings, smarter budgeting, more investing, and ultimately, wealth building.

Which is the whole point.

Want to connect with Clare Wood?

Clare can be found at her website and socials under ClareWood.com, where she works with established women in business to grow profitable, scalable businesses.

Need financial advice? Check out a range of our experts who can help you!