Weighing a contract offer against waiting - first time posting

A permanent role may come up, but the contract starts now. There are 17 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. The contract could extend.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

Buy coverage through the marketplace if the contract has none. I budgeted for it before signing.