Is there a better VAL()?

[Bruin 1953]

As you know, Val() stops at commas, parentheses, etc, but ignores spaces between separate numbers!
CDBL(strTxt) offers help, but only if the string is fully numeric

I often write code to process copied text, and want to extract The number in a line like this
Profit/Loss: ($12,000.95) -- thru July

Is there a function for this, or do I have to write one myself?
Appreciate any help