Bonds are much easier to "time" than other kinds of investments, say stocks or options. This is because the reason that bonds fluctuate have to do with much larger and more widely reported macroeconomic events, in which there is little doubt over the factual nature of the events. Bonds should be purchased, like stocks, at a low point, and sold at a high point or kept until maturity. However, the real money is made "on the buy," and investors should be on the lookout for situations in which the government has a need for money, like in the current debt crisis.