ESPP programs are great, and I encourage everyone to participate. But do keep in mind that the IRS limits how much you can gain from them. My company allows you to put 15% of your paycheck into them, and almost everyone I know hits the limit. Which means the company is withholding 15% of your pay, but only using about 7-10% in purchasing the stocks. They simply refund the rest at the end of the cycle.
The company where people were supposedly putting their whole paycheck in was before that. Some people have to ruin things for everyone. Both of the ones I participated in limited withholding to 10% of your net pay.
