NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Credit cards, mortgage, electric bills, car payments and grocery bills are all important, but which ones take priority?

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If residents know they don’t have enough money to pay all of their bills and can’t decide which to pay first, financial expert Dave Ramsey has answers.

Ramsey said without question, some bills take higher precedence than others.

"The credit cards are not on the top of your list, but they'll call you first," he said.

Ramsey's motto is to pay the priorities first, things like food, shelter, transportation and utilities.

"You take care of your own household first. Then you live emotionally and financially to fight another day. Those people out there, the student loans, the other people, they're going to get mad, they'll damage your credit, whatever. But your belly is full, and the air conditioning is running," he said.

Once the basic bills are paid, Ramsey said the rest of people’s lives will fall into order, which will make it easier to pay off the credit cards.

"Then the marriage keeps working, and we can work an extra job, start going back to those guys and clean them up later," he said.

The advice sounds simple, but Ramsey said it's easier to clean up your credit cards than lose your home.