Question : Need a way to add a value to existing variable and display results

Hi,
    I have a routine which calculates the sum of the total field in my database based on the user which is logged in using the $user_id variable.  This all works however when I email the customer, the latest total value for the order they just purchased is not included as it hasn't been committed to database at this point, so the actual total spend since becoming a member isn't accurate.

What I need to do is something along the lines of:

$grandtotal = $spenttotal + $total
echo $grandtotal;

But I am unsure of the correct syntax for the above, or even if that will work.  Can anybody assist please?

Thanks

Answer : Need a way to add a value to existing variable and display results

you are just missing 1 detail, the ;

1: 2: 3:

$grandtotal = $spenttotal + $total; echo $grandtotal;