Top Loan/Escrow Services

A. Loans & Mortgages    
Lenders with complete selections of loan and debt consolidation services.

Countrywide - direct lender.. mortgages; purchase, refinance, and equity loans.
DeepGreen Bank - direct lender.. home equity and quick cash loans.
ditech.com - direct lender.. mortgages; purchase, refinance, and seconds.
E*Trade Mortgage - direct lender.. mortgages; purchase, refinance, home improvement.
E-Loan.com - marketplace.. get competing offers for all types of loans.
GetSmart.com - marketplace.. financing options for consumers and business owners.
HomeLoan.com - direct lender.. mortgages; purchase, refinance, and equity, 24hr approvals.
iOwn.com - marketplace.. buy or refinance a home.
LendingTree.com - marketplace.. get competing offers on all types of loans.
LoanApp.com - marketplace.. get competing offers for all types of loans.
MoneyNest.com - marketplace.. compare competing quotes for all types of loans.
Mortgage101.com - resource.. database of answers to mortgage questions.
PeopleFirst.com - auto.. car and motorcycle loans, including person-to-person sales.
PHH Mortgage - direct lender.. mortgages; approval available in under five minutes.
Washington Mutual - direct lender.. mortgage division of the national bank.
 

B. Escrow Services    
Third-party services that hold funds to make online transactions safer.

Bidpay.com - escrow.. from western union; secure way to pay for auctions.
Billpoint - credit cards.. processes person-to-person credit card transactions.
ecount - debit.. use account to shop online, email payments, withdraw cash at ATM.
Escrow.com - escrow.. services for B2B and C2C transactions.
InternetCash.com - cyber cash.. use your account to shop at participating websites.
PayPal - cyber cash.. send money to anyone with an e-mail address.
PitneyPay - escrow.. secure B2B payment transactions.
RocketCash - cyber cash.. use account to shop at participating websites.
Yahoo! PayDirect - cyber cash.. send money to anyone through email. 

: Top Personal Finance Sites

A. Financial Planning   
Financial planning research and comparison tools.

Bankrate.com - comparison.. rates and reports; make better financial decisions.
Fool.com - mega-site.. free registration; personal finance and investing supersite.
GE Financial Learning - mega-site.. personal finance center; articles, free courses.
GetApproved - mega-site.. make informed financial decisions; expert advice, tools, loans.
ihatefinancialplanning.com - portfolios.. beginners; free and premium planning portfolios.
LowerMyBills.com - comparison.. check out great deals to lower monthly bills.
MSN Money - mega-site.. partnered with cnbc; complete money resource from microsoft.
Practical Money Skills - mega-site.. money management learning center for all ages.
Quicken.com - mega-site.. learning and idea center; analyze and improve your finances.
SaveWealth.com - advice.. tips on reducing taxes, retirement and estate planning.
WealthEffect - mega-site.. articles, boards, and tutorials to assist you with planning.
YouDecide.com - comparison.. planning center and marketplace; loans, insurance, credit.

B. Online Banks    
Financial institutions with complete online banking services.

American Express - online.. complete online banking from american express.
Bank of America - bricks & clicks.. dedicated online banking or manage offline accounts.
BankDirect - online.. manage accounts online, with quicken, or microsoft money.
Centura - online.. apply for accounts; planning strategies and ATM locator.
Chase - bricks & clicks.. personal, small business, commercial, and corporate services.
Citibank - bricks & clicks.. online banking, credit cards, small business services.
E*Trade Bank - online.. apply for bank and brokerage services; ATM locator.
First Internet Bank - online.. personal and business accounts; complete banking services.
NetBank - online.. accounts, loans and brokerage services through partners.
TD Waterhouse - online.. complete banking; obtain both broker and bank accts.
Washington Mutual - bricks & clicks.. account access, bill paying and loan information.
Wells Fargo - bricks & clicks.. online banking, manage offline accounts, brokerage.
Western Union - bricks & clicks.. wire and receive money, and transfer funds.

C. Credit Cards   
Credit card companies; apply online, manage accounts, or obtain credit counseling.

American Express - official site.. apply or manage accounts; don't leave home without it.
Ameridebt - counseling.. non-profit organization; get help with credit and debt problems.
Bank of America - visa & mastercard.. apply for classic, gold, and platinum cards.
CapitalOne - visa & mastercard.. apply online, instant response; manage card accounts.
Chase - visa & mastercard.. apply online; shell, toys 'r' us, and wal-mart cards available.
Citibank - visa & mastercard.. apply, manage accts; sony, american airlines cards.
Diners Club - official site.. links to each country's local diners club info page.
Discover Card - official site.. apply for cards, account management services.
First USA - visa.. from bank one; apply online, personal and business.
Fleet - visa & mastercard.. apply and manage accounts; credit education.
genus - counseling.. non-profit organization; free debt management programs.
iDebtHelp.com - consolidation.. consolidate unsecured debts into one low payment.
MasterCard - official site.. apply online; use specific criteria to find the right card.
NextCard - visa.. instant approval, online fraud protection, e-shopping tools.
Orchard Bank - visa & mastercard.. apply online, access acounts, and get credit advice.
Profina - counseling.. non-profit organization; confidential debt management.
The GM Card - mastercard.. online applications, account management, check earnings.
Visa - official site.. search for issuing institutions and apply online; atm locator.
Wachovia - visa & mastercard.. classic and gold cards; online applications.
Wells Fargo - visa & matercard.. standard, secured, student cards; instant applications.

D. Credit Reports    
The most secure sites to get a personal credit report online or by mail.
Equifax - online.. credit reports, monitoring and profiles.
Experian - online.. personal, consumer, and business reports online and via mail.
MoniTrust.com - online.. credit reports from all three credit bureaus.
QSpace.com - online.. reports online or by mail, includes numerical score.
Transunion - mail.. personal credit reports and public record information.
TrueCredit.com - online.. order reports online from the three national bureaus.

E. Bill-Payment Sites    
Organize and pay your bills online. (noted is each month's cost and maximum # of bills.)

MSN Bill Pay - $5.95/15.. bill payment and management from microsoft.
PayMyBills.com - $12.95/30.. receive bills, pay online, and organize past bills.
PayTrust - $5.95/25.. pay bills, balance checkbook, manage bills, and more.
piggybills.com - $8.95/25.. bill payment, and credit improvement information.
StatusFactory - $8.95/30.. bill payment and organization service.
USPS eBillPay - $6.95/20.. view and pay bills automatically from anywhere.
Yahoo! Bill Pay - $4.95/12.. automatic payments, reminders, track payments.
 

F. Tax Sites   
esearch guidelines or prepare tax returns online.

Bankrate Taxes - resource.. objective tax research informational toolbox.
Bloomberg Tax Guide - resource.. tax basics and reduction strategies.
CNNMoney.com Taxes - resource.. articles and columns from money magazine.
CompleteTax - online filing.. $17.95; free resources, calculators, and forms.
First Union Tax Center - resource.. tax articles and planning; download forms.
Fool.com Tax Center - resource.. complete tax resource; Q&A's, seminars, more.
H&R Block - online filing.. $19.95 do it yourself; $49.95 reviewed by a professional.
HDVest.com - online filing.. free service; a few articles and tips.
IRS.gov - official site.. faq's section contains valuable tax information.
NOLO Taxes - legal resource.. understandable explanations of tax/audit laws.
SmartMoney Guide - resource.. articles, advice, and worksheets.
TaxForms.com - forms.. purchase docs online; for businesses and tax professionals.
TurboTax - online filing.. various prices; Quicken's online tax center.
WorldWideWeb Tax - resource.. complete guide; tax tables, download forms, more.