<prompt> Human: I work for a great company fresh out of college and Im being compensated so well I feel giddy. The 401k is good, too.Now that Ive been here a few months, my first opportunity to purchase the companys stock has come around. Ive searched this sub for the topic, and found many people have had positive experiences with it.Maybe the best way to ask this is to channel my inner Seinfeld: Whats the deal with ESPPs? Is there anything I should look out for prior to committing money to this?---Specifics: 15 discount 6 month look back period I purchase the stock at the lowest price of either end of that period I have to hold the securities for 30 days before selling, although Im not sure if this is particularly relevant for the payroll deduction method, as opposed to purchasing stocks in a lump sumWhat this all translates to appears to be some mythical guaranteed 15 return. Hell, I could be over 20 with my companys stock performance knock on wood so I dont cause the next crash.I will say that I contribute 8 of my salary to my 401k maxing out the match, put some in savings, generously give the government a quarter of my peasants pittance, pay my student loans, and after my extravagant disposable income expenses, I have about 500 I could invest every month in this. To me, it seems too good to be true to be getting a guaranteed 15 15? return, so Id like some feedback.Honestly this seems like a benefit that companies offer to increase employee satisfaction and identification with the company relevant link but they can count on people not taking maximum advantage of this on average.UPDATE as of August 5, 2014:Everything has worked out well, but there is one thing that I didnt anticipate. There is a holding period of 30 days. I dont think this is something that every plan has, but my purchase date for this period was June 30th I started investing the money on January 1, but the stocks werent actually purchased until 6 months later, at the end of the period, and I wasnt able to sell until 30 calendar days later.During this time, the stock market fell a couple percent. The purchase price was still less than the price the first day I was eligible to sell even if I were to not consider the discount i.e. I would still be getting over a 17.85 annualized return, but its concerning. Ill still be using the ESPP of my company, but only because I have enough trust in its success that I dont believe that 30 days will cause me to lose too much value. Even if a crash starts during that time, I can hold onto the shares for 18 months for better tax advantages.In summary, just make sure you are comfortable with the holding period if thats part of your ESPP.  <response>: I have similar ESPP terms with no holding period. I give maximum contribution and make at least 15 return every 6 months. No downside, really. 