about us

My name is Steve Linder. I was born and raised in Cambridge MA.  By the time I reached high school, Mom moved us to the town of Weston, MA.  Weston was a wealthy suburb of Boston noted for great schools. I’d never known what being rich looked like but here it was smacking me right in the face.

In high school, my friends were mostly extremely wealthy. Their families owned manufacturing plants, car dealerships, or major construction companies. Some of my friends got new cars for their 16^th birthday. I was lucky enough to be invited to travel with a few of them, invited by their folks who knew I was being raised by a single mom. I also traveled a bit with my aunt and uncle, who with four kids had learned to save money wherever possible. They’d carry an electric fry pan on vacation and cook one-pot meals for all of us in our room. I visited Mexico and Venezuela with them, touring in rented Volkswagen buses. Thus began my wanderlust.

I graduated high school in December of 1973, a half year early. I’d worked nights cleaning offices for Liberty Mutual and saved most of my money. When I graduated, I bought a beat-up Chevy and left New England mid-winter on January 1^st, headed for Miami, FL. Arriving in Miami, I discovered that in 1974 Miami was a place where senior citizens went to retire, and not the hip spot it is today. Since it was still January and I wanted warm weather, I continued west into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, eventually into Texas, always staying as far south as possible.

I found myself at the border of Mexico. Back then you needed nothing but a driver’s license to enter Mexico. I spent the next three months traveling around Mexico and Central America. By the time I returned to Boston, I was a travel addict.

I started college in 1974 at Northeastern University. I chose my major, International Business, just for the potential to travel. I started a jewelry manufacturing company in Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico as an undergraduate and landed Marshall’s Department Store as my largest client. I traveled back and forth to Mexico about once per month during college. I proceeded into grad school, again as an international business major at Northeastern University. I bought a few timeshares and learned the ropes of trading them to visit other locations. I bought some properties in Florida followed by properties in Costa Rica. I volunteered with some tour companies just for the chance to travel. In the early 2000’s I started a tour company running property tours into Central America.

I’ve kept most of my travel on American Airlines, realizing that using one airline as much as possible works best with frequent flyer programs. I just completed a Million  Miles on the American Airlines Advantage program.  That milestone earned me Elite Status, for the rest of my life.  I now live in Key West, Florida, with a summer home on a small island off Massachusetts as well as owning property in Mexico and Costa Rica. I’m by no means rich but I’ve learned the secrets of how to get more for less. My guide will teach you these secrets as they pertain to traveling and vacationing.

Happy travels..