Investing is the way savers ensure their future, today. Investors like Samuel Ramey are always looking for new opportunities to generate expanded future wealth. Traditionally, the stock market and low-interest rate mortgage loans from a trusted broker or another lender to get into real estate have been the primary drivers of investor gains, but many other commodities play a role in the continued success of the United States’ most prolific traders.

Whether you are a homeowner looking to maximize investment potential in your U.S. real estate or MBS assets, or a new investor searching for tips and tricks for evaluating the market’s potential, there is a wealth of knowledge out there that you need to continue pursuing throughout your journey.

Never stop reading.

Knowledge is the most important part of any investment strategy. The continued acquisition is crucial to developing and maintaining a winning strategy that will help you grow your portfolio over the long term. There’s a reason why the most famous investors spend so much time reading.

Creating a strong portfolio is all about learning and growing with the marketplace itself. Whether you are looking into how to invest in mortgage-backed securities (MBS, or a pool of mortgages that investors can buy into like a mutual fund) or want the latest outlook on cryptocurrencies or U.S. government bonds, seeking out advice and knowledge on the latest trends across market sectors is the only way to truly evaluate the potential upside of any commodity.

Get to know common investment metrics.

Learning to leverage data points that indicate positive — or negative — movement in any commodity’s price is an important step for any investor looking to internalize a leg up over the competition. Identifying fast movers and market conditions that signal price changes are the best way to increase the interest rate you and returns on investment that you enjoy as a retail investor. Stock and other commodity metrics are what drive investment banking decision making, so they should represent a key aspect of your strategy as well. Stats like the number of times interest charges are earned are a great place to begin for a novice investor looking to add data to their regimen.

Times interest earned is a unique metric that measures a company’s liquidity through its cash reserves as they relate to debt. The majority of large corporate entities and startups operate with a pile of daily debt. Startups take on investors and loans in order to finance their growth, while larger companies borrow money from banks and other financial institutions in order to create cheap cash for making acquisitions or paying for commodities. These interest expenses accrue larger debt though, and must eventually be repaid.

A company’s cash flow is used to measure its ability to pay back outstanding debts in a lump sum fashion — with a higher times interest earned ratio signifying a company that is performing at a high rate of effectivity. While no business would simply pay off the debt in one fell swoop, a downturn in the market may shrink profits, reducing the value of the company’s stock. A high-interest expense ratio signals a corporate entity that is performing well financially and enjoys significant long term stability.

Continue to grow your portfolio’s principal.

A portfolio that is performing on target will double every seven years, on average. But you can help speed this growth along by continuing to add to your principal. Continuing to put away cash into your savings portfolio will help usher in the large scale growth that you will want to see in any retirement or long term savings account. Making the commitment to add even a few dollars at the end of each week will help balloon your savings portfolio and really energize the growth that you see as a result.

Investing is all about the little things. Make the time to learn and implement winning strategies for your investments.