One issue you run into a lot when you are discussing optimal savings strategies is the inability for people discussing their returns versus the S&P 500 to produce a fair comparison. They will say, for example, that the S&P 500 index was at the same level as it was at some time in the past – so therefore investing in the index was a waste of time.

It’s time to correct this nonsense. I have taken Robert Shiller’s data on the historical S&P 500 index and created a dividend reinvestment index going back to 1876.