The specific way that you spend on other people isn't nearly as important as the fact that you spend on other people.

Source: "How to Buy Happiness." TEDxCambridge. Nov. 2011. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote from social science researcher Michael Norton means that spending money on other people, no matter how you do it, is important. Specifically, we learn in the TED Talk this quote was taken from, it is important to your own happiness. In this Talk, Norton describes the results of an experiment in which people were given money and instructed to spend it on themselves or on another person. The experimenters found that people who spent the money on others were happier than those who bought something for themselves. Thus, giving to others is a way in which it is possible to "buy" happiness. Watch the full TED Talk here: Michael Norton - How to Buy Happiness