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In an new interview with the Associate Press, the CEO of FICO, one of the major credit reporting and credit scoring agency, said that credit cards are becoming more important to Americans than ever before.

Using internal data, FICO is a growing trend that Americans are paying off their credit card debt before paying off other bills, including their mortgage. This is a reversal of conventional wisdom and prior trends, which showed that Americans took care of their home first.

In fact, FICO information shows that despite the ailing economy, people were less likely to fall more than 90 days behind on their credit card debt than they were just a few years ago.

Mark Greene, CEO of FICO, looked at these numbers and said: “We suspect another reason is that credit cards are increasingly important to people.”

He also pointed out trends showing that consumers are using credit cards to make ends meet. For example, he pointed to last month’s numbers which show that 10 percent of credit card holders used their card to buy groceries.

However, consumers aren’t paying these payments off the next month. Greene said they are rolling this purchase into revolving debt and keeping them on their statements.

These people will then be paying interest on basic and essential purchases, which can, in the long-term, put a serious strain on personal finances. If interest rates get high enough, some consumers may be forced to file chapter 7 bankruptcy because these small purchases added up and got out of control.

Still, it seems consumers find themselves with little choice when the jobs are lost or paychecks shrink. Credit cards aren’t just used for big purchases anymore. For many people, they’re becoming essential to getting by.