A good friend of mine called me yesterday and let me in on a bit of potentially good news. His company has offered him an early retirement package.

My first thought was that of how lucky he was to be offered a buyout. See, I happen to think that buyouts are a good thing at any age. He wasn't so sure.

He's been with his company for over 20 years. Except for a short stint at another company shortly after graduation, Bill hasn't worked for any other company. You might say Bill's grown roots. He's a bit, shall we say, terrified of change.

Even though I really wanted to sell him hard on why I thought it was a terrific idea to take the early retirement package, I listened to his rundown of the benefits offered in the package and decided to offer him a framework for making his decision.

I urged him to take full advantage of the services his company was offering. Employees eligible for the early retirement program were being offered both classroom and private sessions with financial planners and a career outplacement firm.

I imagine the financial planning exercise will give Bill some idea about whether he can afford to retire early, or whether he should continue working or both retire from his present position and continue working elsewhere. That's where the outplacement firm can come in handy. In fact, I urged him to attend the career planning session even if he learned from the financial planning process that he didn't need to work. My logic there was that he might just decide he wants to take a job somewhere "just for the fun of it". Bill hasn't been on the job market for over 20 years so a session with an outplacement counselor surely won't hurt.

Finally, I asked Bill to take a few days and try to imagine what he'd do with his life and time if he didn't have to get up and go to his same job every morning.

I believe the best way to think about the future - what I'll do tomorrow - is to think about the day after tomorrow. I told Bill to go forward in time a few days or weeks and look back at his first experiences as a newly early retired individual and see if he saw a happy new life starting for himself.

Many of us, and I'll put myself at the top of the list, dream of getting a buyout package from our companies. For some it's a scary proposition. If you're making all the right personal finance moves and keeping your own financial house in order the decision, I think, is an easy one. But even if you are I'll concede the idea of such an abrupt change in life can be daunting. The best way to deal with the prospect is to always be prepared for it. That way it will seem like the opportunity it is if and when it presents itself. Avail yourself of all the decision making tools and professional advice you may be offered; and project yourself into your future life. Look back on the new you.

I hope you like what you see.