[lavezza]

True, but you also have to wait for your options to vest. I did make the mistake of waiting too long. With a 5-year vesting schedule it's possible to still get a stiff tax for the last few years.

This is one area where I think the company didn't make the consequences clear. But I also understand that they were trying very hard to not appear to be giving tax advice. Also, my company specifically asked us NOT to do small purchases. I guess there were people doing monthly exercises with each paycheck and the company didn't like that (it wasn't forbidden, just frowned upon).