I grew up a military brat and am X-military myself so, I've never considered working to pay the bills as a sacrifice. Working to support your family is a responsibility, and is mostly expected of men.
This is an awesome and very commendable point of view (for all you guys out there tho believe this, please don't change that!), but I also think that many people don't anticipate the harsh realities that come with it.
I can only speak from what I've seen, so others might have different experiences.
I wrote a thread about this a while ago which basically said, "Ladies, are you looking for a man who is a great provider? That's wonderful! Just don't expect to ever actually see him, and start preparing yourself to raise your kids alone, while still being faithful to the husband who is working so hard for you, but will be prevented from spending time with you because of that very work. Don't sit on the internet all day chatting with other men who are 'just friends', because that will change very quickly."
"Guys, are you looking to provide for your families? That's awesome!!! Just don't be surprised when your wife is angry that you're never there and accuses you of never helping with the kids, even though it's not your fault. Be prepared, because the devil is going to throw some sweet-talking, understanding young thing your way to tempt you, and God will expect you to remain faithful to your wife."
Now, this is NOT a knock to men AT ALL, but rather, speaks to the harsh realities of life. I'm sure there are some men who can land a high-paying, 40-hour a week, 9-5 job with weekends off that can amply provide for their families, but I have yet to see it. In other words, singles get married to try to cure loneliness, but marriage and kids will often leave them feeling more alone than they've ever been in their lives, and God will expect them to stay and keep on serving the spouse who is never there, whether physically or emotionally.
My Dad has a saying, "40 hours a week is a part-time job," because although the men in my family did (do) indeed provide, typical work weeks for them are 60-100+ hours, not including commuting time (which for some, is 2 hours in either direction.)
If you take 60 hours plus 12 hours for commuting (I'm counting 6 days here, because they often have to work 6-7 days a week), that doesn't leave much room or energy for family or spousal time. And even in many of the families with two parents working, they are often forced to take opposite shifts so that someone is home with the kids all the time, because they can't afford daycare.
This means that even though spouses might be working towards the same goal (caring for and raising their children), they are spending almost all their time alone or with other people, which is not exactly healthy for the marriage. I'm very thankful that God preserved the marriages within my family, but this seems to be the exception and not the rule.
I worked with several people whose marriages broke up because they were working so much and spent so much time apart, other activities (and persons) started to fill that void instead.
Common goals are a great start, but actually meeting them with your marriage intact is a whole different story.