How a 26-Year-Old Ended Up with ₹18 Lakh Debt by Option Trading? | Losses & Lessons Ep-18

If you’ve ever felt the rush of a quick profit reel and thought, “Maybe I can do this too,” this episode is for you.

It’s the unfiltered journey of Lucky Vishwakarma—a 26-year-old TCS professional who started with a stable salary and a modest investing habit, slipped into F&O options trading via Instagram and WhatsApp “tips,” and spiraled into ₹18,00,000+ of combined loans and dues.

It’s part confession, part autopsy of mistakes, and part playbook on how to stop the bleed.

Lucky works on the business/operations side at TCS—managing costs, allocations, POs, and billing cycles for global clients (Ecolab, Sanofi). Outside work, he’s a classically trained singer and guitarist who once dreamed of releasing his own music album. Financially, he wasn’t reckless at the start: by 2022 he’d built an ~₹80,000 equity portfolio by sporadically buying well-known names (Adani Wilmar, Ambuja, etc.). Then came the reels.

How a reel turns into a routine: the slide into F&O

Late 2022, Instagram showed the familiar candy: screenshots of massive intraday profits, “banknifty x2/x3,” “expiry day jackpots,” and broadcasts with premium tips for the price of a pizza.

He activated F&O, funded ₹1,000, and on an expiry day bought contracts he barely understood (“1 point something” premium ≠ ₹1 share). Within days he subscribed to a ₹650 WhatsApp tip channel.

The first dopamine hits arrived fast:

Day 1: +₹150 profit on ~₹12,000 capital

Next week: Daily wins of ₹1,000–₹2,300

The trap was set: small profits, no process, and the illusion that money-making was just “following the next message.”

Then one day, everything flipped—profits evaporated in a single session because they pre-entered trades (front-ran the tip price), didn’t place stop-loss, and got chopped by volatility.

Meanwhile life was happening: December 2022, his sister’s wedding. He contributed ₹3–4 lakh from savings. By then, cumulative trading losses had touched ~₹30k (only the visible part), but the behavior patterns—averaging down, no hard stop, short bias, revenge trading—were now habit.

The job? It slipped into the background. Markets 9:00–3:30; office attendance after. He describes biking while trading, phone wedged in a bag pocket, half-watching the screen, half-watching the road. That’s not hustle; that’s roulette.

When a money habit turns into a compulsion, the decisions shrink to one step: “Where can I get the next rupee?” In Jan 2024, he took another ~₹80,000 via an NBFC at ~28%. In March, ₹75,500 from another lender at ~18%. In April, LazyPay ~₹90,000 at ~32% (3-month EMI ~₹30k). Then DMI Finance ~₹1,40,000 at ~29% (2.5 years).

By late April, EMIs ballooned to ~₹50k+/month on a salary of ~₹20–29k. To pay one loan, he took another. To pay a credit card, he moved money through Dream11 (“I thought I could immediately withdraw the deposit to clear an EMI; only winnings withdraw quickly”).

If you’re in a similar spiral, steal his last chapter, not his first:

Tell someone you trust.
Freeze new funding (no new loans, no new deposits).
Build a debt payoff plan (highest interest first or smallest balance first—just start).
Rebuild skills and career capital.
If markets call you back one day, earn your edge first on paper. The market will still be there.

Watch this episode till the end to learn from the mistakes of this amazing person.

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0:00 Trailer
1:18 - Introducing Lucky Vishwkarma
4:16 - Lucky's Entry into Trading
6:48 - Dabbling into Options Trading
8:50 - Trap of Tips & Calls
12:26 - Losses faced by Lucky
15:53 - Persistence in F&O after losses?
25:52 - Losses, Loans & EMIs
43:49 - Started Playing Dream11
45:50 - Friends with Benefits (Loans!)
45:55 - Loans STOPPED!
46:08 - Last Trading Date?
47:45 - Any Curiosity to Learn Trading?
48:51 - PnL Discussion
54:41 - Conclusion