<prompt> Human: In August I opened a Roth IRA and put the full 5,500 in it. It has since made a total of 8 dollars. I opened a SP 500 index with 7,000 in December and it has since made 100.Now, I know that a 500 index has a lot more short term volatility; Ive lost 20 in a single day. But in the long term, I can be pretty confident that it will make money, yes? Short of an economic collapse, the SP 500 isnt going anywhere. And it seems to give a lot more return than an IRA too. Heres a graph from Vanguard comparing the two different types of accounts. So why should my IRA be my first choice for long term investments?EDIT: Welp, that explains why Im not making much money. Thanks for pointing out my mistake and saving me a lot of future money. I just put the money in an SP500 index.Seriously guys, I feel like a damn retard but Im glad I figured this out now.  <response>: IRA is just a tax shelter. The money in your IRA can be invested in any number of investments including SP index funds. 