A financial planner ranks your debts from most to least urgent

Most of us would like to be free of debt.

That's why stories of regular people paying off thousands are so inspiring: If they can do it, maybe we can, too.

However, before setting our sights on completely paying off our mortgage or eliminating every cent of our student loans years ahead of schedule, it's important to meet any other debts that might take priority, explains certified financial planner and certified public accountant Jordan Niefeld from Raymond James Financial.

"Choosing to pay off the wrong debt may be very costly," he explains. You should always be making at least minimum payments on your debts, so before committing your cash to make extra payments on a single debt, here - listed from most to least urgent - are the debts Niefeld recommends making sure you can cover.