The Backstreet Boys don't like bragging about how much money they make. "It's really uncomfortable when people ask us how much we make," admits the Orlando, Florida-based group's Brian Littrell. Still, it doesn't take a superslueth to figure out that with all their sold-out concerts and the fantastic sales of their 1997 self-titled debut CD, not to mention the success of their groovy R&B singles such as "As Long As you Love Me" and "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)", the Backstreet Boys' bank accounts must be pretty big by now.

Other musicians might be tempted to empty these accounts by spending only on themselves, splurging on luxury sports cars and shopping sprees at way-expensice designer stores. Not Brian and his bandmates, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson. Instead, these blessed-with-success bandmates are sharing their newfound fortunes with the people who matter most to them in the world: their families. "Financially, now we have the freedom to do things that we've always wanted to do," says Kevin. And what the Backstreet Boys have always wanted to do is give something back to the families who have always supported them and cheered them on throughout their music careers. Nick, for instance, has bought his family a new house. That's right, a house! We think that makes Nick an incredibly generous guy, but when we pointed this out to him, he was totally modest about it. "I help my family out because it means a lot to me," the 18-year-old singer shrugs. "It's weird, because I've always had an old-fashioned kind of feeling about how, you know, everybody contributes to the family and everybody helps out. That's the way I was brought up. I do it becayse I want to."

We're sure that all the Carters are totally grateful for Nick's humongous contribution to his family, especially since it means hiis 'rents will never have to worry about monthly house payments again. nick is determined to make all the payments for them. in fact, he shares, "It's almost completely paid for now!"

Following Nick's lead, AJ is carefully setting some of his money aside to buy a new house, too, and to fulfill a promise he made to his grandparents, Ursula and Adolph Fernandez, when he first got into show biz. "From the very beginning, every audition I went on, my grandmother would say, 'If you get this part and you make a lot of money, I want you to buy me house on the ocean,'" the 20-year-old performer remembers. "I'd say, 'All right. Some day, some day.' Now that opportunity is at hand, I want to buy her and my grandfather a nice little spot on the ocean somewhere. I want to help them out, since I can."

For Howie, helping his family out means outfitting their historic house in Orlando, Florida with an essential modern convenience. "The first thing I did with my money was put central heating in my parents' house," he shares. "It's about 100 years old and it had, like, the nice hardwood floors and stuff, but no central heating. So, I put it in throughout the whole house." That will definately make Florida's cool winter nights a lot more comfortable for Howie's folks!

However, heating isn't the only home improvement on which Paula and Hoke Dorough's devoted 24-year-old son has splurged for them. "Now, I'm fixing up their place by landscaping the backyard and the front yard," Howie tells BB. "We've got a lot of plants in there now, amd I got my mom an elephant water fountain, because her biggest thing is elephants."

Like Howie, Brian loves being able to give his family gifts that used to be way out of their price range. That's why when birthdays and holidays roll around in the Littrell household these days, Brian likes to find spectacular gifts for his parents, Harold and Jackie, and his big brother, Harold Jr. "This past year, I bought my brother a brand-new Honda Civic for his birthday, because he was driving a pretty old pick-up truck," the 23-year-old Kentucky-born cutie tells BB. "I also got my mom a piano for Christmas this past year. She's always wanted one because she's been able to play by ear for a long time, but she never had a piano to practice on and play. She was like, 'Oh I love you! I love you!'" Seeing this type of happy reaction makes Brian feel that his extravagant gifts are worth every single penny he spends on them!

Brian's cousin, Kevin, also likes to take his money and splurge on nice big gifts for his family. For instance, his recent Christmas presents to his big brothers, Jerald and Tim, included super-cool and super-expensive TAG watches.

Kevin uses his money to help his family out in more practical ways too. He recently bought a new house for his mom, Ann, and found a stress-free, fun job for her. "Right now she's a sales rep at a department store, but she's done a lot of bookkeeping, too, so I'm thinking she can help me with my company's books," says this 25-year-old business-minded babe, who is now in the process of starting up his own real estate company. "I want her to be part of my company, so she can quit her job and just work with me and be with me."

If you ask Kevin and the rest of the Backstreet Boys, they'll probably tell you that as long as they're successful, they'll keep sharing their riches with their families. "It makes you feel good," Howie says about is ability to help out his family. In that case, we're betting that the Backstreet Boys must be feeling great these days!