NATCHEZ — Residents from all over the Miss-Lou came out in droves Friday morning starting at all to save a little cash on the biggest shopping day of the year.

Hundreds of cold, wet and tired shoppers waited outside their favorite store to hunt for the biggest bargain they could find on Black Friday.

Natchez resident and Belk shopper Trisha Roy woke up at 2:30 a.m. to get ready and get in line for the deals at Belk.

“I have been waiting all week for this day,” she said. “I am going to save a lot of money and get a lot of presents out of the way.”

Roy said she is always amazed at the number of people who show up to stores on Black Friday.

“This is my fourth straight Black Friday, and there seems to be more people here every year,” she said. “I guess the bad economy is forcing more people to try and save.”

Natchez resident and JCPenney shopper Patricia Holtz said she arrived at the Natchez Mall at 3:30 a.m. to catch deals on clothes for her children.

“You have to get here early to get the best savings,” she said. “Black Friday means more bang for your buck.”

Holtz said after she left JCPenney, she still had a lot of holiday deals to hunt out.

“I still have to go to Walmart and K-Mart,” she said. “There is no telling how long I will be in both of those stores. I just hope I make it home before it gets dark.”

With an Xbox 360 in her cart, and a look of determination on her face, Natchez resident and Walmart shopper Alice Calhoun said she wasn’t leaving the store until she could find the television she was seeking.

“I saved my most expensive items to buy for today,” she said. “I know I am going to be paying at least less today than any other time.”

Calhoun said she budgets her money every year so that she has enough to buy the majority of her presents on Black Friday.

“Times are tough,” she said. “Every little bit I can save is money I can use when it get closer to tax time. You have to take advantage of massive sales like this.”

Vidalia resident and Walmart shopper Katie Jones said she has been planning her Black Friday shopping since late July.

“You have to know what to get and from where,” she said. “I have an itinerary planned out that will take me through until 5 p.m. tonight.”

Jones said fighting through the tough Christmas crowds is just a part of the annual shopping extravaganza.

“You wake up and expect it to be so busy you can hardly move around the store,” she said. “It is what you expect. I am glad to know there are other people out there who are trying to save as much money as they can.”