Contract work or permanent, which would you take? (update)

I got a contract offer for 18 months as a forklift operator and I am unsure whether to accept. This is my first time dealing with any of this. I have 6 months of savings left. Did a contract become permanent?

I took a contract and it converted after four months. The time also kept my skills current.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 6 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.