20 money lessons from 2025

* Transcript created by AI – may contain errors or omissions from original podcast audio

At this time of year, I always get a bit nostalgic doing the end of year review. Thinking about what unfolded over the past 12 months, getting excited about the 12 months that lie ahead, and I thought that I would share with you 20 lessons about money from 2025 might be a good time for you to also sit and reflect and think, what are 20 money lessons I’ve learned this year as well.

But today I wanna share with you my top 20.

Okay, lesson number one is that money is bigger than business. I think when we’re business owners and we play in this space, we can be really focused on what’s going on in the business. But forgetting that their money is a much bigger conversation. A lot of times the conversations that I’m having with my clients aren’t just about their business.

It’s about what’s going on with their household finances or properties or shares or other things. And reflecting on the year as a whole. A big takeaway for me is that there are tons of ways to make money, and business is just one tool to do so. The second lesson from the year is that making money can be hard and it can also be very easy.

We are based here in Australia and this year we’ve made hundreds of thousands of dollars in our properties, and we’ve done jackal to actually earn that. And reflecting again, like I spoke about in last podcast episode, reflecting on the year, there are some areas of business this year that it’s really felt like pulling teeth and then other areas, it’s just been really beautiful and easy and flowing.

So money can be hard and money can be really easy, and this is why a big part of the work that I do is encouraging you to be really neutral around money. Rather than being like, oh my gosh. Like the more that you are able to continue to make decisions, continue to move forward while, you know, trying to remain pretty neutral around it really sets you up for long term success.

All right, lesson number three. These are gonna be really short and sharp ’cause I’ve got a lot to get through in today’s podcast episode. Alright, lesson number three. When I’ve reflected on this year, this was the year that for me personally, AI has been very transformational. It feels like it’s happening very quickly.

It’s gone from to being something that’s heavily integrated in my business and my life now, barely a day goes past when I’m not having multiple times where I’m chatting to chat GPT or Gemini or, or some sort of tool getting support in one area or another. But here’s what I’ve noticed. AI isn’t going to stop businesses, particularly online businesses.

It’s just changing it. And as a business owner, you need to think about, well, how can I work with AI as a tool? How can I be changing the way that I’m doing business? Rather than thinking it’s all too hard and the work that I do isn’t gonna be important in the world. I know for me that a lot of my clients are, you know, chatting to their AI tools, but they are still wanting human input.

And I’m also feeling that more people are being called to genuineness, to personal brands and to in-person experiences. I ran a series of in-person events at the start of this year, and I had a huge response and that the retreat that I ran in May this year was also the best retreat I have ever run. I feel as technology and the world is evolving, you as a business owner need to be changing and the way that your clients want to interact with you is gonna be changing too.

All right, the next lesson, number four, when opportunity presents, sometimes you just have to leave. So if you know much about me, I’m a planner. I love to have my budget, and I’ve recently invested to work with a coach. And this actually wasn’t my intention. I hadn’t actually put aside budget for this specific investment, but an opportunity popped up.

And I jumped on it because sometimes when an opportunity presents, you just have to go for it. And for me personally, it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my business in a long time. I am closing out this year with so much passion and excitement and clarity around where I’m heading next year.

It’s really been a game changer for me. All right, lesson number five. There are times for cutting back and there are times for leaning in. So as I spoke about in the point before, that was an opportunity for me to lean in. And this year I’ve also done a lot of cutting back, like ruthless, cutting back in our household.

So the start of this year, we really were looking at our numbers and I said, you know, we really wanna build this dream house. So let’s have a look. Let’s strip it all back to bare bones and work out where we wanna cut back. And some areas that I’ve cut back in, I stopped getting my nails done, we cut off our cleaner.

And some of those like I honestly have been enjoying not getting my nails done. My nails, because I have had gel nails on for so long, they’re actually really quite strong. And so my nails still look great and groomed, and I’ve got this time back, we’ve got the extra money. And then there’s other areas where I’ve said I don’t wanna go back.

Like we still did a beautiful overseas family holiday to Bali this year. I’m so glad we did that. And there’s gonna be times and areas that you lean in and say, this feels great. And then other times we say, Hey, we really need to trim back or say no to this opportunity. All right, number six, money buys you choices.

Now, this isn’t particularly a new lesson from this year, but it’s a lesson that really rings home. Because I’ve witnessed a loved one. Who has gone to a really challenging time this year who didn’t have financial resources available to them, and they have really struggled. Their choices were very limited, and unfortunately it’s led to some pretty challenging mental health issues.

Now I’ve, of course, offered to help, but sometimes situations aren’t always that simple, and it’s been a really big refresher for me. Money does buy you options. It doesn’t solve all the problems by any, by any stretch, but it does buy you choices. And we’re gonna talk a little bit more about that later on as well.

All right, lesson number seven. Everything can change so quickly, particularly things that are outside your control. So when I look back on 2025, there has been a lot of volatility, instability, globally, politically, and you know, talk of crash. And in fact, we’ve seen a lot of volatility with cryptocurrency, the property market.

I mean, I’m surprised that the property market’s gone up and up and it’s just kind of mind blowing when you think about how quickly things can change that are completely outside your control. Earlier this year, the area that I live in, the Gold Coast in Australia, we got hit by a cyclone. And I look back now and think, whoa, how different that could have been if the cyclone had had, you know, caused a lot more damage than it did, or if this whole, you know, city had flooded.

Thankfully it didn’t, but it’s just kind of a reflection. You know, the world can really change very quickly and a lot of it is outside of our control. Okay, next one. Number eight is two dot your I’s and cross your T’s. I have seen a lot of people, like friends and clients get themselves in a bit of a pickle by not checking all of the details.

Make sure if you’re signing contracts, read the contract, make sure you’re aware of what you’re committing to look at the detail. ’cause people are like, oh, I didn’t know that I was signing up for that. It’s like, well, it was there in the contract. So make sure that in business and outside of business. Oh my gosh.

Make sure that you are aware of what you are agreeing to when it comes to your money. Alright, number nine. This is a business lesson. If you know intuitively that someone isn’t the right client or they’re not the right client fit for the particular thing that you’re selling, trust that intuition. If you have a nudge, if you have those red flags that are waving away, listen to that.

And I know that it’s challenging because, you know, we don’t wanna judge a book by its cover. And sometimes people have a bit of a, a graphic exterior or another kind of exterior that perhaps you’re making a judgment about and you get it wrong. So I get that it’s hard. But reflecting on the year, that was anytime that I’ve taken on someone who wasn’t the right client, it’s honestly been a lot more hassle than it’s worth.

I’m sure you’ve had the same experience. Alright, lesson number 10. Now this is more, again, this isn’t a new lesson, but it’s a great lesson to reflect on and be reminded of when I reflect on the year that was, and it’s, this money isn’t a finite resource. And the reason I wanna flag that is because I’m hearing a lot of generalizations and I know that I too can slip into holistic stories.

No one is buying right now. The market’s gonna crash. Or making sweeping generalisations. People aren’t buying online courses anymore. Now, I just want you to remember that there are always people making a lot of money. I’m not just making money, making a lot of money. Even in times where there’s economic crashes, there are people becoming billionaires.

And when, if you can start to remove the stories and if you can start to think about money differently, you start to open yourself up to more opportunities. All right, lesson number 11, your business will grow to the level of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have. Let me repeat that again ’cause I think this is an important one.

Your business will grow to the level of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have. There have been some uncomfortable conversations I’ve avoided this year and they have cost me big time. And there’ve been some uncomfortable conversations I’ve had, and I’m incredibly grateful that I have had them.

They’ve enabled me to move, to shift, to navigate through. So I want you to reflect right now, is there an uncomfortable conversation? Maybe it’s a team member who’s not performing, a client that you need to have a difficult conversation with, a family member. What’s the conversations that you’re avoiding?

Lesson number 12, business is such a beautiful tool for flexibility. You know, I mentioned earlier that we went on a trip to Bali this year, and I’m gonna be honest, the first time I went to Bali, I fricking hated it. I went and stayed right in Cota. And it just, it wasn’t my vibe. The first time I went, it was many, many years ago before I had a family and I was, was not keen to go back there again.

But my hubby really wanted to go. He had some friends going and we went to Bali and we actually had a really fantastic time, so much so that we decided to extend our trip and that was just such a beautiful and expansive experience to be on holiday with our kids and say, Hey, let’s stay, I think we said another five days we could do our calls from anywhere, and I know, you know, extending a trip in Bali is hardly, you know, laptop lifestyling from all around the world. But it was just such an absolute blessing and an eye-opener that we could do this. You know, I said to my hubby afterwards, I’m a bit more an adventurer than he’s, I said, why don’t we go to Vietnam? Let’s just go there now. He’s like, no, we need to get home.

But we did have this fantastic time where we literally, our kids loved the kids’ club there. There was a PlayStation, a couple of PlayStations there, and my kids don’t have gaming at home, so every day they’d be like, come, we go to kids’ club. And me and hubby would just take a couple of hours, an hour or two each day, sit, you know, sit by the pool, I’d be on my laptop, he’d be making some calls.

Then we’d be back with the kids sipping cocktails in the pool in the afternoon, and we’re just like, wow. Like, wow. The fact that we have the ability to do this from anywhere. Okay. Lesson number 13, something I’m learning is that the more money you have, the easier it is to make more money. And I’m, I’m witnessing this in the circles that I mix in.

I’m witnessing this for myself. Like, you know, right at the start of business and you’re like, I’ve got like 3 cents to my name. I know that my first logo, I, you know, I went on 99 designs and had it done. And when you have a bit more money, it’s so much easier to say, Hey, I’m gonna hire some support. I’m getting expert advice from a coach.

You can invest in beautiful branding, and the more and more that you make, the easier it gets to make more. So hopefully that’s something a bit inspiring for you. All right. Number 14. You can be generous in many ways. So when we think about generosity, a lot of times we think about money, we think about gifting, we think about, you know, looking after our team members and you know, I love to do those things.

I think money is such a blessing. But another thing that I’ve been doing a lot more of this year is being generous with my time. So last year and the start of this year, I was in a volunteer role, which I stepped away from. And it’s freed up a little bit of my time, which means that I’ve been able to help out my friends, looking after their kids sometimes like over the school holidays also doing a bit of pet sitting for my friends again, and it feels very beautiful and abundant.

You know, I grew up in a household of one of five kids and we always had. Kid, extra kids at our house. My mom was also a daycare mom, and you know, with my boys getting a bit older that they wanna have their mates around and just saying to people, Hey Jo, you know, I’ll take the kids for the day. It’s, it feels so abundant and one of the beautiful things about money and about flexibility that our businesses enable us is being able to be generous.

So I’ve really been enjoying that this year. Number 15. Sometimes the most expensive decision is not taking the leap. I, you know, I am gonna be completely transparent about this one, but you know, when we first moved into our current house, we had the option to renovate and we even had the money to do it.

But we didn’t wanna renovate. We thought, no, we wanna build a big, you know, amazing two story house, which we still wanna do. But the thing that we’ve learned now is that because of the cyclone coming through and the increased flood risk around here, we now don’t have the option of renovating. We literally, our options are we have to stay where we are, or we have to like elevate the house.

So sometimes not taking the leap. Not making the decision actually ends up costing you more. Now, I truly  believe everything always works out for me. I know the dream house is coming, so in this particular circumstance I’m okay with that. But I do just wanna remind you that sometimes sitting, waiting actually ends up costing you.

And I know there’s many other areas that this has shown up in my business. I’ll give you an example. When I first got started in business, it was so easy to get follows on Instagram, and I sat on it. I sat on it. I sat on it. Starting this podcast I didn’t do for years. Again, I wish I’d done it sooner. So sometimes the best thing you can do is just leap.

All right. Number 16, it’s not what you earn. It’s what you get to keep and it’s what you get to enjoy. I have some friends who make a ton of money, but also spend a ton of money and actually aren’t developing any true wealth. Any network. And on the flip side of that, I also have friends and people in my circle who on paper are incredibly wealthy, but gosh, they lead boring lives.

They don’t go on holidays, they don’t do anything. They don’t go out, they don’t eat in restaurants. I don’t think, gosh, don’t you wanna enjoy your money? So I do think that there is this balance, and it’s such an interesting conversation to have. But I truly believe that you don’t wanna be on one extreme where you’re just spunk it all and saving nothing for the future.

And equally, you don’t wanna be living like a miser and not enjoying your money. Gotta figure out that balance. All right, number 17, cash flow and looking at your numbers. Now, I know this isn’t sexy when I say, look at your numbers, read your reports, no one goes, oh Clare, that sounds like great fun. But do you know what?

Knowing your numbers is the backbone of peace. Everyone who starts doing this says to me, I feel so much more confident. I feel so much more empowered, and they end up having more money. So looking at numbers, very important. Number 18, wealth doesn’t erase worries, but it changes the flavor of it. So this year we’ve actually had a bit of a challenge with one of our children, and we have been very blessed to have the capacity to be able to invest in support for him.

And it has been transformational like, light and day because we just went, right, we’re tackling this, we’re going all in. Let’s get the support there. And to the extent that it’s almost now a non-issue again. So look, I again, you know, I don’t wanna pretend that money solves or problems. It doesn’t, but it definitely can help make things easier.

Number 19, sometimes the win isn’t financial. It’s freedom. So as I shared at the start of the year, we went on a absolute ruthless cull and one of the things that we cut was our cleaner. I’m like, we don’t need a cleaner. I can clean. I’ll do that for the dream house. And at the start it was fine. It was a bit of a novelty because I know this sounds very what’s the right word?

Privileged, which it is. I haven’t cleaned our house in a very long time. In fact, even before I got married and had kids, I’ve had a cleaner for a very, very long time. And until at the start, it was a bit of fun. Like, you know, I, I don’t mind cleaning. But the novelty wore off very quickly because I became the cleaner.

And very soon we realised it was taking away from my energy and my capacity to be able to run my business. Be a present mom and partner, et cetera. So we’ve actually got a cleaner back, not as much as we used to. Our cleaner now comes once a fortnight, which feels like a really beautiful balance. But yeah, money isn’t always the prime goal.

If you aren’t having the freedom, if you don’t have the flexibility, if you’re giving up all your spare time to be cleaning or whatever it might be, you ain’t gonna feel free. And the final lesson. Lesson number 20 from 2025, if something isn’t working, you need to shift it. How many times have you looked back at a period of time you think I’m still in the same freaking place I was.

I haven’t been able to shift the weight. I haven’t grown my share portfolio. I’m still making the same amount of money. Whatever it is that whatever era of your life that you wanna create, change. You have to create the change. You have to say, I’m gonna do things drastically different. And sometimes you’ll try different things.

You’ll go, okay, let’s try that. Okay, that didn’t work. Let’s try that. That didn’t work. But just keep on doing things drastically different. Or if you keep repeating the same patterns, you’ll likely keep getting the same outcomes. All right. I hope you enjoyed today’s lesson. Bob, me a DM on Instagram, clare_wood_coach.

Let me know if any of this resonated. If you have a lesson that you wanna share with me, I love to hear all about people’s money stories. So my top 20 Money lessons from 2025. Have a fabulous week and I’ll chat to you again next week.

* Transcript created by AI – may contain errors or omissions from original podcast au