Our Weird Budegting

Hello all!
So, budgeting at our stage in life right now is more like budget training. Since we're in med school that means we're poor and simultaneously awesome as we borrow thousands of dollars from the government. We're still on medicaid (at least, me and the girls are. Colin has insurance through the school so it comes directly out of the loan) and on top of that we're on food stamps (we figure we're going to pay it back and then some to the government in the first year of taxes being a doctor). This means we know exactly how much money we're going to receive down to the penny for a 10 month period. However, we get it in 2 lumps for a school year. So, every 5 months.
Here's what we do:
1. Subtract how much we're going to pay in rent for 5 months
2. Subtract 5 months worth of utilities (we pay electric and gas. We've kept track of it and know a basic average but we still have to be flexible).
3. Subtract 5 months worth of renter's/auto insurance
4. Subtract internet and Netflix (our replacement for cable)
5. Subtract other set monthly costs [my Proactiv, girl's diapers (it's pretty predictable how many they're going to go through and we get them through Amazon), holidays, and fast offering (no income. no tithing), gas for the car (we consistently get 2 tanks a month. We don't drive much)].
6. Decide how much we want to put in savings, if anything, and put it there
7. See what's left!

This is where I take over. We reassess our finances every first Monday of the month (yay FHE!) and make a new budget for the month. This is basically where we adjust for any prices that have changed from what we projected and we come up with a small budget for me to work with. This is where I challenge myself to remain within that budget as I buy toiletries, clothes for the girls, things for the home, paper towels, toilet paper, and whatnot. This is where I look for sales, online coupons, and the will to resist temptation. :) And then we do everything again the next month! So, it's strange not working with an income and seeing that the money's in the bank but I can't touch it because we'll need it in 5 months, but it's good training. It's teaching me self-restraint, priorities, and just like Melissa said "wants vs needs."